All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
With Amit Shah exuding confidence in his recent trip to Odisha saying BJP will form the government in the state in 2024, questions are being raised if Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik is beatable by BJP in 2024? Political watchers dismiss Shah’s bravado saying “not possible during Naveen’s lifetime”. It’s difficult to defeat a leader like a performing chief minister like Naveen babu in 2024. He has never tasted defeat, as yet. Does BJP have one leader in the state who can match Patnaik’s stature? It is common knowledge that “Modi-Shah juggernaut isn’t all powerful enough to steamroll Patnaik’s huge popularity. This has been amply demonstrated by BJD in the panchayat and urban elections vis-a-vis BJP’s total washout in both instances. Here is the contradiction, while Modi-Patnaik politically are fighting each other at personal level they share a great equation. Given this scenario, Amit Shah has to tread carefully to ensure BJP leaders don’t attack Patnaik personally and at the same give cadres enough ammo that keeps them charged and hopeful that BJP will be in the saddle one day. For starters, the party has elevated Sunil Bansal to the National General Secretary position, in-charge of Odisha. He has been asked to replicate BJP’s UP victory in Odisha. Clearly, for BJP their task is cut out, to make a dent against a tall leader like Naveen babu whose popularity continues to be on the rise.
In a dramatic turn of events, controversial minister Sanjay Rathod has threatened ‘anyone’ who makes derogatory statements against him in public. Rathod had to resign from the previous Uddhav Thackeray ministry in connection with allegations concerning the suicide of a female social media star, Pooja Chavan, in February last year. He is attacked for the same alleged misdeed. Rathod’s most spirited critic is BJP leader Chitra Wagh, who not only condemned his inclusion in the present ministry but also threatened to continue the battle against him, come what may. On the other hand, chief minister Eknath Shinde has said that Rathod had been given a clean chit by the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Rathod himself has said that there is no FIR against him nor has the judiciary entertained any charges against him. As allegations continued to be aired even after his clarification, Rathod has threatened to file defamation cases if any new damaging statements are made about him. Rathod said, “I have been elected repeatedly to the assembly from Digras in Yavatmal district. I have a family, parents. I know what I have gone through. Such slandering must stop.” Rathod was made to resign by Thackeray in February 2021 after his government was cornered over the suicide of Pooja in Pune where she had come from Beed to pursue a career
Nothing seems to be going well with the ruling Trinamool Congress after two of its prominent leaders Anubrata Mandal and Partha Chatterjee were arrested by the central agencies CBI and ED respectively. However, despite washing away hands from these two leaders, TMC has been prompt in protesting against Mandal’s arrest in a subtle way by organizing a two-day protest through youth and students wing. However, this was not the case for “Parthada”. “Kestoda” as Mandal is popularly called has held an unprecedented power for over a decade despite not holding any position in the government, not even as an elected legislative representative. His exceptional organizational skill of mobilising the masses to counter the Left in their erstwhile citadel of Birbhum helped Mandal to gain prominence in the TMC. Incidentally, Bahubali of Birbhum helped the party to win 11 out of 12 seats from Birbhum in the 2021 Assembly elections, and both Lok Sabha seats — Bolpur and Birbhum in 2019. Does Anubrata hold power beyond his district? Yes, he does. His influence spread over Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, which is why he was also made a part of the party’s national working committee. Kestoda, who is also a fundraiser for the party, has delivered on all fronts, party insiders. And this is why Mamata Banerjee has always defended him vehemently in public especially now by holding protest marches after his arrest.
Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde is preparing to deal one more blow to his nemesis Uddhav Thackeray in his stronghold, Dadar in central Mumbai. Shinde is reported to be looking for office premises for his faction, which he claims is the real Shiv Sena. His supporter and Dadar MLA Sada Sarwankar has revealed that Shinde is looking for space for a party office at a location convenient to people to visit. Shiv Sena Bhavan, the Sena’s headquarters near Shivaji Park in Dadar, has been like a place of pilgrimage for countless Sainiks. Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and now Uddhav have been regular visitors to Sena Bhavan that has witnessed rise and downfall of various leaders over the decades. The most prominent former Sena leader, Raj Thackeray, has an office a stone’s throw’s away from Sena Bhavan and his residence, too, is close by. Thus, the area around Shivaji Park assumes political significance due to such happenings. Shinde has been feeling the need for a separate party office since the common public can’t easily meet him due to security reasons and the 24X7 police cordon at his Malabar Hill bungalow. If Shinde’s office comes up in Dadar, the after effects will be felt most by the Sena under Uddhav.
To add more “zaika” to the growing exports of spices from India, BN Jha, Marketing Director, Spices Board of India has embarked upon a new mission: promote Turmeric Latte. Jha who was in London at the IFE Manufacturing 2022 Fair is scouting for brand ambassadors from UK who can promote this turmeric drink globally. During the pandemic and post Covid “haldiwala doodh” has given big boost to turmeric sales, and its exports have quadrupled because of its medicinal properties, says Jha. During 2020-21 turmeric ranked fifth with an export share of 6.16% of the total exports of spices valued at Rs 27,193.20 crore. Turmeric is globally recognised for its immunity properties. This is why Spices Board is aggressively marketing Turmeric Latte world over. Interestingly, the demand for organic products is growing rapidly in developed countries like Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. The current estimated share of organic foods in these countries is approximately 1-1.5%. This awareness and value for turmeric including other spices is seeing the Spices Board going all out to increase their market share from the current level. Under the Act of Parliament, 52 spices have been brought under the purview of the Spices Board. However 109 spices are notified in the ISO list.
Cricket is broken, they said when Ben Stokes gave up ODIs to concentrate on his Test career. But even as the death of the 50-overs format was being freely predicted, ICC’s future tours programme is dotted with cricket in all three formats, as busy as ever. It’s not cricket that is broken but the bodies of star cricketers who are playing too much. The greatest danger ahead even as Trent Boult quits the New Zealand contract and predicates his playing future around various T20 leagues is that T20 franchises will soon be ruling world cricket. Indian IPL owners have bought into the Caribbean, South African and UAE leagues and soon the stars may be forced to make a difficult choice between club and country. Cricket Australia is prepared to spend a hefty packet to keep David Warner interested in the Big Bash rather than travel to UAE as expanding T20 leagues start cutting into the southern summer cricket scheduling in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Spectators used to own the game until the TV stations came along with their multi-million-dollar rights bids. And now it appears the T20 franchise owners, like the club-owning oligarchs of English football, are set to dominate world cricket.
Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi (Aug 12), three days after he took oath along with Nitish Kumar has come as a booster dose to the secular alliance. The Mahagatbandhan government will face a floor test on August 24. Bihar Congress leaders described Tejashwi’s visit as a courtesy call and said specifics of portfolios of Congress ministers would not be discussed. Congressmen are delighted with the Yadav scion’s visit, as 10 Janpath is back in the reckoning. After all it was Sonia who had played a crucial role in forming the Nitish-Tejashwi government. Reportedly, Nitish had reached out to Sonia when she was battling Covid in early June. While discussing her health, Nitish had shared with her how the BJP was trying to break his party. Sonia had asked him to contact Rahul Gandhi as well. Nitish had asked Tejashwi to get in touch with Rahul. Years ago, Rahul had taken out Tejashwi for lunch. But, Rahul will not be part of Sonia-Tejashwi meet. Even as all 19 Congress MLAs want to be ministers, a section of Bihar leaders are keen that the party does not join Nitish-Tejashwi and like the Left parties they should provide outside support. “Whenever we have shared power with RJD, Congress has lost. Whether in 2005 or in 2015, our tally has always gone down,” says AICC member Kishore Jha.
Ahead of Gujarat and Himachal polls, the Centre pleaded in the Supreme Court (SC) to set guidelines on freebies with dos and don’ts till the time legislature steps in as the country was heading towards a financial disaster. In its affidavit, the Centre offered to set up a committee of experts such as Union and state finance secretaries, finance commission chairman, a member from every national political parties, officials from the RBI, and ECI, and NITI Aayog, representatives from FICCI, CII and Discoms. The panel would examine all freebies. The AAP vociferously argued against the SC getting into the area of freebies and warned that the Apex Court should not heed Centre’s plea as it would lead to a political thicket. The SC remained unfazed and has endorsed the Centre’s move for an expert panel. Looks like AAP’s free power promise has the Centre worried with “many electricity generating companies and distribution companies most of which are government-owned being severely stressed. But having won Punjab on freebies, Kejriwal is just not bothered and is out there wooing Gujarati voters with 300 units of free power and Rs 3,000 dole to unemployed youth. Ironically, when Modi took over the state as CM two decades ago people had proudly told him — we don’t want free power, we want assured supply. Does Kejriwal hope to entice Gujjus with his Revdis (sops)?
Distance between Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and the Congress party in Maharashtra is widening. The latest provocation is Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole’s assertion that the earlier ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was not a ‘natural’ alliance. Sena’s unilateral decision to install its MLC Ambadas Danve as leader of the opposition in the state upper house has exposed older wounds in MVA. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has backed the Sena, isolating the Congress further. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan has attempted damage control by claiming that Patole’s statement was his ‘personal view’ though he concurred that Uddhav’s step was taken without consulting the Congress. On the other hand, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the party with the largest number of MLCs can automatically become the main opposition party. Pawar is the opposition leader in the assembly. NCP also had ignored the Congress earlier when its senior leaders called on chief minister Eknath Shinde to greet him. At that time, the NCP had informed neither the Sena nor the Congress. This had angered both. During the MVA regime, the assembly’s speakership was with the Congress. But Nana Patole, who was the speaker then, had resigned and the post was vacant till the Shinde-Fadnavis alliance elected Colaba MLA Rahul Narvekar to it after coming to power.
When members of a marriage party that had just arrived in Jalna (Maharashtra) started striding purposefully towards the premises of two famous steel manufacturers rather than to any nuptial venue, the onlookers were puzzled. Because rarely any weddings happen in monsoons. But the suspense did not last for long. It soon became evident that huge amounts of cash and gold were being unearthed. It was a series of simultaneous raids by the Income-tax officials, who had hired about a hundred private vehicles which displayed the announcement, “Rahul Weds Anjali” for the surprise visit. Nearly 250 of them swooped on the establishments on August 3 and continued their operation till August 8. The raids yielded cash of Rs 58 crore and over 30 kg of gold, besides precious stones. The cash was found in a farmhouse outside the town in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. The officials needed 13 hours and eight note counting machines to calculate the booty. After counting, the notes were sealed in stout gunny bags which were stashed one atop another. The resultant wall was eight feet in height. The raids were based on intelligence received by the I-T’s Nasik office. However, it was kept a secret till the last moment. The businessmen concerned deals in steel, real estate and textile. Moreover, documents leading to benami property deals worth Rs 100 crore are also said to be recovered.
A day after BJP leader Sushil Modi claimed that the BJP and the JD (U) parted ways because Nitish Kumar was not made Vice-President, the Bihar CM rushed to deny it. Nitish’s rebuttal came on a day Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar took oath of office. The denial possibly came as the ambitious CM who wishes to be PM in 2024 doesn’t want to be seen as challenging a Jat V-P. “I have no such desire. Did they forget how much our party supported their President and Vice-President candidates?” he said, pointing to how he had announced his exit from the NDA only after polls were over. In Bihar BJP, no one is grieving over Nitish’s exit from the NDA. It is good riddance; their only worry is about the fate of their initiatives such as the mega textile park undertaken by industries minister Shahnawaz Hussain. State BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal says, “Nitish didn’t like our work on the textile park; we had brought land prices down. Whenever we raised issues of law and order, he did not like it. He didn’t like the NIA investigation into the PFI links case. I bet by Holi next year, Tejashwi who has support of 115 MLAs, will force Nitish out of CM’s office.” BJP feels it was the arrest of Bhola Yadav, a key accused in the land-for-railway-job scam by the CBI last month that triggered Tejashwi to forgive Nitish for 2017 betrayal.
After J Jayalalithaa‘s demise, Rajinikanth’s political entry was much trumpeted. Even when a huge fan following bragged about the style he would bring as the “CM of TN“, sceptics bandied this joke…”Rajini Can’t” wade into the turbulent political waters. When he announced that he was withdrawing from politics his fans went into despair. He was trolled mercilessly for developing cold feet. His last two movies did nothing much to boost his cine status. Better to ride off into retirement gracefully. But no, adulation is an addiction and fan worship is a narcissistic opiate. Suddenly, on August 7, he dashed off to Delhi, followed by a much-hyped meeting the next day with Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi at the Raj Bhavan. Soon he was front-page news and trolled heavily. Was Rajini, the Pink Panther on the prowl again? Why would a film star meet the Governor? Was he joining the BJP? Post Raj Bhavan visit, Rajini met the Press at the gate of his bungalow and a volley of questions followed: Did you discuss politics with the Governor? Did you highlight the niggardly, miserly GST share for TN? Rajini quickly but stylishly put on his mask, and bolted into his house. Is Rajini hoping that his next movie Jailer would put him into the limelight like Vikram did for his rival Kamal Haasan?
For his ready wit, Eknath Shinde got a 100/100 at the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2023 launch event held at the packed Regal Room at South Mumbai’s Trident Hotel on Wednesday (Aug 10). Dressed in his signature long-sleeve white shirt, trouser and the prominent round tilak on his forehead, Shinde created an electrifying atmosphere at the event saying: “What about our marathon; Mumbai to Surat and from there to Guwahati and to Goa. We did not know if we would be successful. But we won it eventually. But we have won only the half marathon now, we will win the full marathon in 2024.” The Maharashtra Chief Minister took a quick recall of the dramatic incidents that his supporters in the Shiv Sena were part of before taking control of Mantralaya. The Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was scheduled to share the stage at the unveiling of TMM 2023, but instead came the towering and erudite Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar. Also present at the high profile registration launch of the street race were the BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and the Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan. As a parting shot Shinde said amidst a guffaw: “We not only run our marathons, but also make others run the marathon.” So many political connotations at a sports event, but Shinde won a lot of admirers!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken umbrage at the Congress party’s recent black clothes protest against price rise, saying that “Those who believe in black magic will never be able to earn the trust of the people. Some people are resorting to black magic as they are immersed in despair and negativity. We saw on August 5, that there was an attempt to propagate black magic. These people think that by wearing black clothes, their period of despair will end,” Modi said. What Modi does not know is that the all black protest first started in Kerala, albeit inadvertently. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been at the receiving end with the opposition waving black flags at almost all his public functions and motorcade. Since the Kerala Police was at its wits end to stop this form of protest, an over-zealous officer issued an order banning not only black flags but also wearing black shirts to CM’s function. This blew up in the face of the cops with protesters across the state wearing black shirts not only at the CM’s functions but also during the assembly sessions. The CM is in a spot of bother these days as an ex-employee — Swapna Suresh — of the UAE Consulate in Trivandrum revealed that gold was smuggled using the diplomatic channel by the CM’s office.
As Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav staked claim to form a new government of the mahagatbandhan in Bihar on August 9, it came as no surprise to the BJP. Bihar political circles point out that the RJD and the JD (U) came together after a bitter parting of ways in 2017 only to protect each other’s interest. In the last few months, Nitish was prodded to walk out of the NDA to protect Tejashwi’s interest; Tejashwi has temporarily put his CM ambition on hold to protect Nitish’s honour. Tejashwi who heads the single largest party RJD with 79 MLAs has decided to rally behind Nitish because he was too scared that the BJP with 77 MLAs would appoint Union Minister Nityanand Rai, a Yadav like him — as CM. The BJP cadres were restive with Nitish as CM and Tejashwi felt if a BJP Yadav became CM that would be the end of his politics. As the Yadavs would have all flocked to the BJP. For Nitish, remaining CM seemed paramount more than his credibility; he no longer cared for his pet slogans like “Susashan” or good governance. Or else imagine the Yadav scion who is being probed by the CBI for land-for-railway job scam gets to endorse Nitish as the only capable PM pick for the Opposition for 2024!
There is good news both for the Government of India UDAN scheme and Government of Odisha’s sustained effort to link its inaccessible airports. With a view to boost inter-state and intra-state travel the Naveen Patnaik’s administration is making air travel affordable for both the government officers and local citizens. Towards this flight tickets on 9-seater UDAN flights are capped at Rs 2500 per ticket for 500-600 km travel. This pricing will bring in a multiplier effect, boost tourism, regional growth vis a vis Odisha economy. The UDAN maiden flight Bhubaneswar-Jeypur-Vizag is expected to take off any time soon. The Odisha government has roped in the Ahmedabad-based regional airline India One Air. This company has already secured an operating licence to fly the Odisha sector from DGCA. According to Prasanna Pradhan, Bhubaneswar Airport Director this initiative will meet with success as most seats will be filled by the state government officials. Once the subsidized air travel takes off, UDAN flight capacity will be increased to 18-seater. This new initiative comes against the backdrop of Odisha government’s failed efforts a few years back. By definition the airline industry’s success depends on several factors, the most important being ATF pricing, occupancy ratio and punctuality. What will work this time will be the viability gap funding; 80% will be shared by the Aviation Ministry and 20% by the state government. Besides, GST will not be levied in certain sectors.
It really seems that people are refusing to forgive Aamir Khan for his utterances on the insecurity of living in India he made a few years back. And that is reflected in the box office collection of his latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha. The day one advance is around Rs 14 crore which is really sad and is equivalent to that of a newcomer Kartik Aaryan film. Even trade pundits are shocked at the day one advance booking and feel Aamir’s Bharat darshan is also not helping. The actor did react to the boycott #LaalSinghChaddha campaign and told the media, “…I feel sad that some of the people who are saying this, in their heart, they believe that I am someone who doesn’t like India. In their hearts they believe, but it is untrue. It is rather unfortunate that some people feel that way. That’s not the case. Please don’t boycott my film. Please watch my film.” The first trailer of the film was panned by the critics and people, and since then the movie has only received negative publicity. The actor’s interviews, integration with south and word-of-mouth publicity by Bollywood watchers of the film hasn’t really been able to boost collections. Clearly, social media has become a strong tool and it can make or break a film. But, Bollywood watchers are hopeful that like all his films which catch up later so too will Laal Singh Chaddha and the movie-goers will not be disappointed.
Maharashtra’s two-party new cabinet is facing flak for various reasons, primarily aimed at the members of a faction belonging to chief minister Eknath Shinde, who himself is included in the attack. A Shiv Sena petition seeking disqualification of the original 16 ‘rebels’ is pending before the Supreme Court. Shinde’s name features prominently in the list. But the focus of the attack is against former ministers Sanjay Rathod and Abdul Sattar. While Rathod was sacked by the previous Uddhav Thackeray government when a female forest officer committed suicide by allegedly blaming him, Sattar’s two daughters are said to be connected with a questionable academic employment test. Sattar has refuted the allegations and shown readiness to face any probe. Rathod, on the other hand, has refused to respond to media questions on the issue. However, Shinde claimed that Rathod had been exonerated. Till yesterday, Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadanvis were under fire for their inability to form their cabinet though a month had elapsed after their own swearing-in. Now that the team has been expanded, inclusion of Rathod and Sattar is adding fuel to the fire. The most hurting onslaught against Rathod’s entry was launched by BJP leader Chitra Wagh, who had campaigned for his expulsion as a minister. A former NCP leader, Wagh has emerged as a strident female voice in the party. Indications are that she will become more vocal now.
For once the former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who fancies himself as a fierce critic of the Modi Government went on record concurring with the views of Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles by encouraging use of electrical vehicles. He even confirmed that he had bought a Tata Nexon EV after his exchange with Gadkari during the Budget Session. In a tweet on August 6, Jairam shared a link of his exchange with Gadkari during Question Hour on March 22 and disclosed how “I got myself a Tata Nexon EV. I firmly believe India should put an end to manufacturing of all types of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035 at the very least, and massively bring down the cost of EVs.” In this exchange Gadkari had refused to give a time-bound plan to phase out petrol/ diesel vehicles as he felt comfort of EVs would guide buyers and manufacturers. As for the Monsoon Session hurriedly ending on August 8, Ramesh pointed out that the government did not have much of a legislative agenda. “Obviously they were not in any urgency to pass any Bill. The Bills passed by Lok Sabha, such as the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill and the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, could easily have been passed by Rajya Sabha this August 10,” he pointed out.
Avinash Sable is the new poster boy of athletics sports in India. The Beed-born track star from Maharashtra has outwitted a few champion runners in the 3000 metres steeplechase, an obstacle race run over seven and a half laps of 400m each. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he startled a couple of Kenyans to win the silver medal in a new national record time of 8:11:2 seconds. A former Olympian who ran the quarter and metric mile, 5000 m race and the 3000m steeplechase, Eddie Sequeira (82) said: “Sable has the physique and he is good. If he can improve the speed between the hurdles, he has a good chance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Steeplechase is not easy, I used to run it in the All India Steel Games. It’s tough. I am sure the coaches are working on his speed.” Sable prevented a Kenyan 1-2-3 sweep that had begun in Melbourne in 1998. Sable is a special track athlete: apart from creating a new national record in 2019, he won the silver in the Asian Athletics Championship. He became the first Indian steeplechaser to run at an Olympics in Tokyo 2020 and to reach the final of the World Athletics Championships at Oregon22 last month. “He has been remarkable so far”, said Sequeira.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s son-in-law V Sabareesan has been in the news ever since DMK came to power. He is the CM’s alter ego, go to man and a conscience-keeper. Recently he was on “mission yagna” to save, and keep the government in the saddle. His mission was against the backdrop of four temple chariots in Tamil Nadu toppling and killing 12 people. This is considered a bad omen for the ruler of a State. On hearing the news, Sabareesan’s best friend London Venkat spoke to a well-known astrologer Mahesh Iyer, who advised the duo to immediately perform certain rituals to ward off the evil and impending calamity to the CM. But to perform the rituals, Sabareesan had to get the go- ahead from the first family which they did. Finally, a yagna was performed at the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur. Political wags were on overdrive about Stalin’s son-in-law performing the ritual as a proxy. Social media talked about the two-faced ideology of Stalin who is quick to claim his agnostic status tempered by the Dravidian ideology, even as wife Durga leads her life as a staunch Hindu devotee. People do not ignore such duplicity by self-serving leaders. The Dravidian ideology is conveniently jettisoned when it comes to saving his own Gaddi. Sabareesan wondershare safeeraser registration code is now seen as acronis disk director crack скачать Stalin’s one-man Delta лицензионный ключ 360 total security Force.
Rashmika Mandana who has acted in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films is already a popular household name in North India thanks to all-time hit Pushpa. Known as Srivalli in the movie, Rashmika seems to be a favourite of the paparazzi because unlike some young Bollywood actresses she never disappoints them; ever ready to pose for them. This 26-year old star who entered Bollywood in 2022 with Goodbye has signed several interesting Hindi movies. She will be closely working with Amitabh Bachchan in a movie directed by Vikas Bahl. Besides, she has already been signed for Pushpa 2 with Allu Arjun and has been cast opposite Siddharth Malhotra in Mission Majnu. According to a trade pundit, Rashmika is one of the most sought after actresses in Bollywood and has a huge draw even before her first Hindi film hit the big screen. There is a dearth of talent in Bollywood and a south addition was much needed. Down south Rashmika is a big star and her romance with another heart-throb Vijay Deverakonda only added to her popularity. Rashmika is the same actress who was trolled for doing Macho innerwear ad film that featured Vicky Kaushal. Looks like trolling has turned to her advantage as she appears in one too many ad films. The other southern sirens who are on Bollywood producer’s hot lists are: Samantha and Nayanthara.
Impressive as the medal tally and a fourth place among countries, India’s performance at the Commonwealth Games is not to be judged only on the strength of the medal haul of 61. The intensity to push oneself to perform better and win medals on the strength of best personal effort marked India’s presence in Birmingham. Eight medals from Track & Field, traditionally India’s weakest area, included one from steeplechase with Avinash Sable, the first non-Kenyan to win a medal (silver) since 1994. A number of medals from India’s base strengths like in wrestling and boxing, besides badminton, helped boost the tally to a healthy level. The sweep in badminton in the men’s and women’s singles and men’s doubles was a triple delight but nothing may have warmed the cockles more than Sharath Kamal’s feat in winning four medals in table tennis at the ripe age of 40. Not only has he slayed the hackneyed phrase – age is just a number – but also proved that such a winner were he to be a country, he would have finished 16th in the medals tally. The women cricketers fluffed a great chance to down the Australians, failing to finish a chase they were handling so well so long as the skipper Kaur was in. India’s sporting enterprise is all set to conquer more frontiers in the forthcoming Asian Games and the Olympics.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent visit to New Delhi remained a low-key affair despite meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi appraising him about the state dues. She has always remained vocal and the biggest critic of the Modi Government and the BJP. But this time, her New Delhi visit did cover several meetings, sans high octane protest and meeting the media. Mamata’s mellowed stance about her visit has led to several questions. A section of the Opposition chief ministers said that Mamata despite attending the NITI Aayog meeting after a long time was not herself that of being extremely vocal. One of the insiders said that during the meeting, Didi did not complain or oppose the government policies. Interestingly, the TMC supremo in her last letter to the Prime Minister complained about non-payment of dues of Rs 97,000 crore by the Centre. Incidentally, chief ministers of Odisha, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Punjab briefed the media about their demands and observations. But not TMC. Insiders say that the media cell of the TMC was asked not to share any information pertaining to her visit. The CPI(M) has pointed out that the visit was mainly to address the ED raids pertaining to the SSC-Teacher Recruitment Scam involving a senior cabinet minister of her government. Presumably, Didi maintained a low profile to avoid any attack on her government over corruption charges.
Kicking off speculations about his future moves, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar reportedly phoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi on August 7 seeking an appointment with her. It is believed he wants support of 19 Bihar Congress MLAs and much more. Possibly, revival of Mahagatbandhan or secular alliance of 2015. The tell-tale signs are there for all to see. Nitish skipped NITI Aayog meeting of CMs citing COVID; he took action against his one-time close aide RCP Singh, a Kurmi like him, for moving close to the BJP. In dialing up Sonia, Congress sources say, Nitish was merely following from his copybook of launching the 2015 alliance. Then, Nitish first got in touch with Sonia and took her help to persuade RJD supremo Lalu Prasad to accept him as leader of the alliance. This time round Nitish hopes Sonia will persuade RJD to back him as CM. “With just 45 MLAs, Nitish can’t expect the RJD to back him. The RJD is the single largest party with 80 MLAs. Tejashwi Yadav will want to become CM,” points out a Bihar Congress leader. That means Nitish’s luck could be running out. Maybe it did ever since he was humbled during the 2020 assembly polls. On its part, the BJP is on wait and watch mode, though its 77 MLAs are restless propping up Nitish as CM.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared that the BJP will spare no efforts in 2024 to ensure re-election of the dozen Lok Sabha members who have pledged their loyalty to chief minister Eknath Shinde. This assurance by Fadnavis is viewed as an attempt to assuage the disturbed Shinde faction, which was said to be apprehensive after the BJP’s announcement that it will concentrate on the LS constituencies lost by the party in 2019 with a narrow margin or which it has never won. They include the prestigious Baramati constituency, which has remained with the family of NCP president Sharad Pawar throughout. Extra attention is being provided towards Baramati, from where Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule has been elected. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is entrusted with the task to snatch it away. She is expected to visit the constituency in coming days. Unease in the Shinde faction was palpable as the CM’s son Shrikant’s Kalyan constituency came in the picture. Kalyan has remained a bone of contention between the BJP and the Sena. Similar scenarios were seen in Thane, Aurangabad and Kolhapur’s Hatkanangale constituencies after local BJP leaders started saying that these seats will be in the party’s kitty in 2024. The reassurance by Fadnavis is expected to calm the troubled waters even as the Supreme Court is taking up the various petitions concerning Maharashtra.
The Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms may not have set the cash registers on fire but they sure are gaining traction at the expense of direct to home (DTH) operators. According to latest figures by TRAI, DTH subscriber base has shrunk from 68.52 million to 66.92 million in the last quarter ended March 31, 2022. In fact, the DTH numbers have not been looking good since 2020, when the overall subscribers were 100 million. This dropped to 70.99 million in 2021. The OTTs made their entry in the Indian market in 2019 with Netflix leading the way followed by Amazon Prime. Indian players like Zee5, ALT Balaji, Sony Liv, Voot, Jio Cinema and Disney-Hotstar have cornered 102 million subscribers. This is expected to double to 224 million by 2026. Among the DTH players. Tata Play continues to be the market leader with a share of 33.23 % down from 33.48 %. Bharati Telemedia, ranked second, saw its share drop from 26.36 % to 26.24%. Only two players recorded gains — Dish TV from 22.04% to 22.10 % and Sun Direct from 18.11 % to 18. 43%. Reliance Big TV DTH seems to be nowhere in the picture. The OTTs have also hit satellite channels with many big players like Star, Zee, Sony Colors etc reducing the number of channels in their bouquet, especially in English language.
There were many interesting asides when the PM Narendra Modi visited Chennai for inaugurating the 44th Chess Olympiad. Post the event Modi went to Raj Bhavan for his night sojourn and also to meet numerous BJP functionaries. Even as the PM strode in, he headed straight to a simple man, waiting with the others, calling out “MRG” and shook him by the shoulders, with others watching this breach in protocol with amazement. Modi evidently has a very spontaneous warm side, his whole demeanour changed and he was visibly happy to meet Nagercoil (Tamil Nadu) BJP MLA MR Gandhi who shares a special relationship with Modi as both were from the RSS. The warmth of the greeting for this 77-year old man who wears no footwear, may have reminded many of the mythological meeting of Sudama and Lord Krishna at Dwarka. Gandhi was touched and honoured. This TN man had failed in earlier attempts to get elected to the Assembly but won in 2021. Incidentally, Gandhi too was the subject of some unsavoury press. Apparently, his aide Kannan’s son Amrish has political ambitions. His bike number plate is emblazoned “Grandson of the Nagercoil MLA”, a euphemism that he created for himself, using the MLA’s name.
If Aditya Verma of Bihar was responsible for shaking veteran cricket administrators like a leaf through his famous Public Interest Litigation (PIL) of 2013 in the Bombay High Court which subsequently led to the downfall of a few mandarins of the BCCI and forced new governance/ accountability rules on the establishment following a Supreme Court order, Indore-based Sanjeev Gupta has been demonstrating the bulldog spirit to protect an Apex Court order that pertains to Reforms in Cricket. Always referring to Diary Number 24114 of 2013 and case number CA/4235/2014 in the Supreme Court, the indefatigable Gupta with the objective of seeking justice for the game and the institution, has written around one thousand letters to the BCCI’s Ombudsman and Ethics Officer (O&EO) pointing out violations that has occurred in the last three years. Recently he urged the BCCI’s new O&EO Justice Vineet Saran to resolve 26 pending cases in a time span of 24 months to 10 days. The pending cases relate among others to former India captain Virat Kohli, BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal and Nita Ambani of the Reliance Industries. Following his previous complaints a few heads have rolled. He even gave up life membership of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association presumably to avoid a conflict of interest situation.
University of Bolton in Greater Manchester has been in the forefront of forging ties with India’s educational institutions. To strengthen its ties with India, Bolton University sought special permission from the Queen’s Office, and conducted the MBE Award Ceremony to honour Dr Kondal Reddy Kandadi at its recent Graduation ceremony. This was unprecedented; never before such an award ceremony was held at the University’s graduation ceremony. Reddy was the former Deputy Vice Chancellor at University Of Bolton who left the UK shores last year at the peak of his career to return to his homeland Telangana to start his own educational venture iVOlViS by collaborating with Bolton University. “At iVOlViS, we are deploying globally proven educational pedagogies, systems, processes, people and technologies to achieve this core goal of realising the Power of Education in every child,” says Dr Reddy. Besides, Dr Reddy, Telangana’s high powered bureaucrat Jayesh Ranjan was conferred with Honorary Doctorate degree for his “outstanding contribution to the development of collaborative relationships between India and Manchester (particularly in the technology sector). “For the past many years I have tried to forge more partnerships between the province of Hyderabad and the UK and that is why I am getting this fabulous recognition by the University of Bolton and why I have received this honorary doctorate,” explained Ranjan.
Grandmasters from close to 190 nations are battling it out on the boards for the blue ribbon of team events at the Olympiad near Chennai. But there is an even bigger war going on in Mamallapuram, also the venue where 200 countries will be voting on August 7 to decide who will run world chess for the next four years. In a highly political race between teams of politicians and Grandmasters for President and Deputy President of FIDE, the favourite duo is current President Arkady Dvorkovich, a Russian politician seeking re-election and whose right-hand man is India’s first world champion Viswanathan Anand. A clear favourite among four teams endorsed by more countries than the minimum required to contest, Dvorkovich may use Anand to reorganise world chess, including bringing fundamental changes to the world title match, which is getting boring according to reigning champion Magnus Carlsen. Opposing them fiercely is former Ukraine chess champion and U.S. resident Andrii Baryshpolets, who is convinced a Russian politician has no business heading FIDE and that the world must stand up to the aggressor against Ukraine. Whether the real war being fought in his home country has any effect on the election or not, a polarised world is reflected in the chess election too. There are two other tickets of four candidates but Dvorkovich and Baryshpolets may be the dominant players.
With the Congress kicking up a row over summoning of Rajya Sabha LOP Mallikarjun Kharge by the ED in National Herald case on August 4 and also fussing over his questioning him for 7 hours at the Herald House even as he had hosted a dinner for Opposition leaders in honour of Margret Alva, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu went that extra mile to bust myths of privilege of MPs who have “a wrong notion that they have a privilege from action by agencies while the Parliament Session is on.” He said “Under Article 105 of the Constitution, MPs enjoy certain privileges so that they can perform their parliamentary duties without hindrance. One of the privileges is that a MP cannot be arrested in a civil case, 40 days before the commencement of the Session or Committee meeting and 40 days thereafter. However, in criminal matters, MPs are not on a different footing than a common citizen. It means they do not have any immunity, and can be arrested in a criminal case during session. Citing a 1966 ruling of Dr Zakir Hussain, Naidu emphasized that “no Member should avoid appearing before any investigating agency when she or he is called upon to do so by citing reason of House duty. As law makers, it is our bounden duty to respect the law and legal procedures”.
In what seemed like a show of unity, Karnataka Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah and PCC chief D K Shivkumar hugged each other as prodded by Rahul Gandhi at a humongous event held at Davangere to mark Siddaramaiah’s 75th birthday celebrations. The multi-crore bash was primarily aimed to display bonhomie between the popular and ambitious birthday boy who is Rahul Gandhi’s favourite to be CM and a patient Shivkumar who has been endlessly biding his time. Rahul Gandhi used the occasion to bury reports of intense competition between the two leaders as to who would be the CM if Congress wins the 2023 Assembly elections. It was feared the clash between the two leaders would spoil the Congress’s chances of getting the magic tally of 111 seats out of 224 seats. “Today, I am happy to see Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar hugging each other on the stage”, remarked a relieved Rahul Gandhi. “I and Shivakumar are together. There is no difference of opinion between us,” said a triumphant Siddaramaiah.” Of course, the state Congress leaders are not sure about the truce. They still feel a Channi-Siddhu style street fight could still be in the offing. Meanwhile, one person most missed at Davangere was AICC General Secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala. He has gone abroad for a medical treatment. But, since elected as MP from Rajasthan, he has barely attended Rajya Sabha.
The National Investigation Agency has submitted to a special court hearing the sensational Antilia Bomb Case that the expense of around Rs 40 lakh for providing the entire documentation to the 10 accused would be unaffordable for it. Moreover, given the volume of evidence, it would require 258 days to make enough prints, NIA’s submission has said. The case has been filed in connection with the explosives planted near Mukesh Ambani’s south Mumbai residence by some of the accused and the subsequent alleged murder of a businessman, Mansukh Hiren. The evidence gathered painstakingly by NIA includes vast amounts of digital record, which include videography conducted in Mumbai and Thane. This record has lakhs of such documents, according to the NIA. The NIA chargesheet runs into around 10,000 pages. It is accompanied by a list of nearly 200 witnesses out of which depositions of 164 persons have been recorded before the magistrate. NIA had urged the court for grant of extra days to submit the chargesheet. It filed it two days before the deadline. The most controversial role in the affair was played by suspended police officer Sachin Vaze, who was re-inducted in the force and was very close to then home minister Anil Deshmukh. Another accused Pradeem Sharma, a former police officer, was a Shiv Sena candidate in the last assembly election.
Kangana Ranaut never misses an opportunity to take pot shots at some of the Bollywood bigwigs. The fearless actor is known for her bold tweets and political leanings. This time she has attacked Aamir Khan who has been facing the brunt of social media calling for a boycott of his latest movie Laal Singh Chhada. But, Kangana feels otherwise; she thinks it is the actor’s marketing ploy. On the Instagram, she wrote, “I think all the negativity around the upcoming release Laal Singh Chaddha is skilfully curated by mastermind Aamir Khan himself, this year no Hindi films have worked barring one exception of a comedy sequel….a Hollywood remake would not have worked anyway.” But, it was equally surprising to see that Akshay Kumar starrer Raksha Bandhan that will be released on the same day as Laal Singh Chadda was also trending on social media and the Bollywood buzz is that like Aamir it is Akshay Kumar who is behind the trolling of the film. The reason for Akshay being trolled is that the actor posted the tricolor on his social media DP that enraged the trolls and they called for a boycott of Raksha Bandhan. And Kangana’s overdrive on social media is being attributed to her way of getting attention for her next movie Emergency where she plays the role of Indira Gandhi.
With the Enforcement Directorate sealing the Young Indian Ltd (YIL) office on August 3 in National Herald case, Rahul Gandhi labelled ED’s probe as an ‘intimidation tactic’. He vowed to be undeterred in his fight to ‘save the democracy and nation’. “If you are talking about the National Herald…they think they can put a little pressure on us and we will shut up. We will not be intimidated, we are not scared of Narendra Modi, they can do whatever they want, and it does not matter. My work is to protect the nation, save democracy, and maintain harmony. No one can stop me.” Rahul has been quizzed for over 54 hours spread over 5 days about transactions related to the YIL and his mother Sonia for over 6 hours. The Congress is determined to milk ED action more than ever and play the victim card. Giving political colour to its “fraud”, the party tried to link sealing of YIL office at the Herald House and raids at 11 other locations as a pre-meditated step to hamper price rise stir called on August 5. In Rajya Sabha, LOP Mallikarjun Kharge protested ED summons to him to join the probe by 12.30 pm on August 4 at YIL office to “preserve evidence” when Parliament was in session. The YIL office was temporarily sealed a day earlier only because Kharge was not available.
When Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog called upon Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik he was not really surprised when Patnaik reminded him of Odisha’s long standing demand of being accorded a special category status. But, what was unique this time was Patnaik’s tone — it was non-pleading. Naveen babu believes it is Odisha’s right to be given special category status as the state has been devastated by repeated cyclones. Ever since Biju Janata Dal split from BJP in 2009 Patnaik has been the lone crusader fighting for the special status without any success. What is new this time is Naveen’s request to the Centre for expanding railway infrastructure, extending banking facilities to rural pockets and providing telecommunication services in the remotest part of the state. Naveen knows that Odisha cannot qualify for a special category status which is presently restricted to North Eastern three hilly states by the Finance Commission. The message CM is trying to drive is asking the Centre to revisit/redefine special status criteria, so that less developed criteria suiting Odisha should be given special dispensation or the centre provides monetary equivalent of a special category status. Political observers say Patnaik has consistently supported Modi in all issues, and it is in Modi’s interest to reciprocate lest Patnaik joins chorus with the Opposition parties.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s past utterances against various women are likely to haunt him in future now that he is pushed into a corner. One of the women, Swapna Patkar, has filed a police complaint against Raut for allegedly threatening her by using objectionable language. Patkar was a contributor to Saamana edited by Raut some years ago. Mumbai police has invoked IPC sections 504, 506 and 509 against Raut based on her complaint. These sections respectively mean insult with intent to breach peace, criminal threatening and insulting modesty of a woman. Actress Kangana Ranaut was another victim of Raut’s wrath. When a portion of her residence was demolished, the Sena mouthpiece Saamana had come out with a headline, “Ukhaad Diyaa” (Demolished). Kangana had countered that she would not take the Sena’s pressure tactics lying down. Independent MP Navneet Rana had alleged before the media that she had been threatened openly by Raut. She described him as a “goon-like MP.” Navneet and her MLA husband Ravi Rana were arrested in Mumbai for declaring that they would chant Hanuman Chalisa in front of then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshri.’Cine artiste Ketki Chitale was arrested by the police for retweeting an old post critical of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Reacting to this, Raut had described her as an addict (Nashebaaj) and a despicable worm.
In what could be his last public engagement Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu along with Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal flagged off Tiranga Bike Rally for MPs from Red Fort to Vijay Chowk on August 3 morning to mark the Har Ghar Tiranga as part of 75 years of India’s Independence on August 15. However, the entire Opposition skipped the event. Union Minister Smriti Irani was seen on her scooty, while I&B minister Anurag Thakur was spotted giving a pillion ride to Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy. With PM Narendra Modi calling upon all citizens to turn the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign into a mass movement by hoisting or displaying the national flag at their homes and using the Tiranga DP on their social media accounts between August 2 and 15. His call for Tiranga DP in social media profile got a response from the Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mehbooba Mufti in their own way. Rahul opted to display a picture of Nehru holding the Tiranga while Mebhooba’s DP showed Tiranga and the state flag which has no relevance today after J&K being reduced to a Union Territory and scrapping of Article 370. She tweeted that the state flag “was irreversibly linked to the Indian flag”. The flags in her DP are shown with her late father Mufti Md Sayeed and Modi.
She is Aditya Chopra’s discovery yet in spite of signing a three-film deal with his company Yash Raj Films (YRF) Vaani Kapoor has not been able to make a big mark in Bollywood. The 33-year old Delhi girl entered Bollywood in 2013 with YRF’s Shudh Desi Romance and won Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her character Tara. But, nine years later she has not exactly become the heartthrob of the cinema lovers. Some are questioning her capabilities as an actress, more so after her role as Sona in Shamshera opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Not only has the film flopped but even her role has come in for harsh criticism. Incidentally, Vaani, considered Aditya Chopra’s pet, has not found many takers outside YRF camp. In all she has acted in 7 films of which three has been produced by YRF. She did gain praise for a playing transgender woman in the romantic comedy Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. And she did dabble in Tamil cinema but post her role in Aaha Kalyanam there were no takers in south. Come to think of it, Vaani is one the few lucky stars to have a mentor like Aditya Chopra and work against big stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar but big hits are eluding her. Maybe she needs to take tips from Deepika and Katrina.
It is turning out to be the season of precious artefacts owned by controversial people up for sale both at home and abroad. Recently, a watch said to have belonged to Adolf Hitler was sold for $ 1.1 million at the Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland, much to the consternation of the Jewish community. The timepiece made by German watch firm Huber has a Swastika and initial AH engraved. It was picked up by an anonymous bidder. Also, on the auction table was a dress belonging to Hitler’s wife Eva Braun. Back home, Union Bank of India, is set to auction artefacts owned by scam-tainted Wadhawan brothers of DHFL-fame. During raids at their premises, CBI found rare artworks of S H Raza and FN Souza, luxury watches manufactured by Jacob & Co and Frank Muller Geneve and loads of gold and diamonds. While Raza’s 1956 oil-on canvas painting titled Village is worth over Rs 3.5 cr, FN Souza’s 1964 untitled oil-on-linen piece is valued at Rs 2 cr. The two watches of Jacob & Co and Frank Muller Geneve are worth Rs 5 cr. The gold and diamond jewellery including bangles and necklace were worth Rs 2 cr. Though the Rs 12.5 cr of artefacts recovered is miniscule compared to Rs 34,615 cr losses of DHFL, the consortium of 17 banks say something is better than nothing.
Rashtrapati Bhavan is getting its dose of Odisha touch. With President Droupadi Murmu at the helm, it is not just flavour of traditional Odia food like pakhala along with Sajana Saga (drumstick leaves) and Aloo Bharta (mashed potatoes) that is making its way into the President’s House. President Murmu who wore a Santhali traditional saree for her swearing-in ceremony brought by her sister-in- law Sukri Tudu, is also choosing those who have worked with her in the past to work again with her; like her former private secretary Bijaya Nayak. She has got Nayak in her team to handle press and publicity. Nayak has been appointed as the Additional Secretary (Press). Currently posted as Officer on Special Duty in Odia University, Nayak was the Culture Director for the Government of Odisha before his retirement. He was the Private Secretary to Murmu when she was the Minister for Commerce & Transport and Fisheries & Animal Resources Development from 2000 to 2002. As President Murmu is a vegetarian and relishes only Satvik food (without onion and garlic), a new menu has apparently been prepared keeping her choices in mind. In 2006, Murmu had turned vegetarian after she lost her two sons and husband. The Raj Bhavan in Ranchi too served only vegetarian food with a dash of Odisha cuisine when she was the Governor of Jharkhand.
Now that Parliament has resumed work, one gets to see a lot of political fireworks and sharp exchanges between the Opposition and the Treasury even during the routine Question Hour. Like what was witnessed on August 2 when a question by DMK North Chennai MP Dr V Kalanidhi to increase the credit limit of Kisan Credit Card to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 1.6 lakh for fishermen kicked up a political storm of sorts in the Lok Sabha. That is because Minister of State L Murugan who handles fisheries, took pot-shots at the DMK and its inability to fulfil poll promises like giving Rs 1,000 a month to women. Charging the DMK of now shifting the onus of fulfilling its poll pledge to fishermen to the Centre, Murugan pointed out that fishermen could always take a mudra loan — a loan without a collateral if they wanted a bigger amount. At this, the Congress and NCP MPs rallied behind the DMK and said how they had helped fishermen during UPA years. This got senior minister Parshottam Rupala’s goat who said, “You have done nothing. Kisan Credit Card has been extended for the first time to fishermen by PM Modi.” Even then Supriya Sule persisted with her query as to whether the KCC loans could be written off. It got Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to tell her “such loans are never written off”.
The Tamil Nadu political scene will remain settled for a while at least after Chief Minister M K Stalin’s assertion that the DMK-led alliance is an ideological one and not only for polls. That should put an end to the noises that came from the local Congress honchos who were smarting under the usual grievance of not being given enough importance. The Prime Minister and Chief Minister meeting on a couple of occasions last week in Chennai and the warm vibes they shared had got the rumour mills going about cracks in the DMK-Congress alliance. The CM has set the record straight and the message has gone out to TNCC not to rock the boat. It is the principal opposition party AIADMK that is in a bit of a turmoil after the Edappadi Palaniswami coup on the plank of a pressing need for a single leader. That leaves another former CM, O Panneerselvam (OPS) out in the cold. So annoyed was he that even the EC refused to recognise his position that he sent his representative uninvited to the meeting to examine the Aadhaar-electoral roll linking proposal. The only alternative for OPS seems to be to join his old tormentors Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran in a parallel party they could well name as Jaya AIADMK. Any merger of forces nurtured by MGR and Jaya would have to wait for much longer.
Ultimately wiser counsel prevailed with a handful of past administrators of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) like Prof Ratnakar Shetty, Shripad Halbe, Ravi Mandrekar, Ravi Savant and Advocate Nilesh Khandre driving home the futility of a discussion on the proposed amendments to the Association’s Constitution. The MCA President, Vijay Patil too played his part by expressing his indignation at the proposal to cancel the voting rights of Mumbai’s 71 international cricketers. As per the Supreme Court order of August 2018, the MCA became a compliant body with the Bombay High Court appointed Committee of Administrators in Justices (Retd) H L Gokhale and V M Kanade registering the Constitution with the Charity Commissioner on September 12, 2018. The new constitution was in line with the BCCI’s and the former CJI RM Lodha authored Reforms in Cricket report, but MCA’s 330 plus clubs were not given the opportunity to consider it at a special general meeting. A senior member described the entire activity as fraudulent and amendment papers as “raddhi“. “There are anomalies between the MCA’s interlocutory application in the SC and the amendments unethically circulated to the members,” said a peeved member. Generally the MCA members feel that the Constitution in its entirety has to be considered at an AGM, rule by rule. “The primacy of the MCA cannot be diluted. I am glad it fizzled out,” quipped a veteran administrator.
Things took a bleak turn for the Kerala Government recently, when the Thrissur-based Karuvannur Cooperative Bank rejected pleas by a customer to withdraw a part of his deposit of Rs 40 lakh. Consequently, the customer’s wife died as they did not have money to meet the hospital bills for a critical operation. After that similar deeds of mismanagement, embezzlement, and non-disbursement of deposits have surfaced not only from the Karuvannur but other cooperative banks across Kerala. Kerala has 1600 cooperative banks in all, with bulk of them controlled by CPM. The Kerala Cooperative Minister, VN Vasan, admitted in the assembly that 160 cooperative banks are unable to return funds to depositors due to financial crunch. The modus operandi of cooperative banks are simple. The political parties/leaders start the bank first in each district and then in big towns. Local leaders at the municipality, block and ward level, head these banks. They then employ their cadre in the bank as clerks, managers, peons, sweepers etc. Then they use their clout and political muscle to garner deposits promising higher rates of interest than scheduled banks. Loans are then disbursed to those who curry favour with the party and leaders. Home Minister Amit Shah, who is also the Co-operative Minister is yet to swing into action as majority of the 98,042 co-operative banks in India are in two politically sensitive states, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Why did Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut keep a cash amount allegedly given to him by then Sena minister Eknath Shinde for such a long time at his residence? This question is making rounds of political circles now that Raut has been remanded to ED custody for the next three days. It was claimed by the supporters of Raut soon after his arrest last night that the cash amount of Rs.11.50 lakh recovered by ED from his bungalow in north-east Mumbai’s Bhandup suburb was actually handed over to him by present chief minister Eknath Shinde in the past for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir construction. In fact, eyebrows were raised when seizure of such an insignificant amount was reported by ED. But the feeling soon turned into ridicule when Raut supporters tried to shift the ownership of the cash. Shinde faction’s vocal MLA Sanjay Shirsat fired a volley of questions. He said, “There is nothing to show that the amount was given to Raut by Shinde. But even if one assumes this claim to be true, why did Raut keep this cash with him for such a long time? Why was it not sent to Ayodhya? Why is this explanation coming only after the ED action?” Shinde merely retorted, “The loudspeaker that used to start every morning at 8 is silenced.”
Six years after being banned, Google is relaunching its street view service in India in partnership with Tech Mahindra and Genesys International. Starting Wednesday (August 3) — Street View — which displays 360 degree panoramic street-level images will be available in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar and Amritsar. Google intends to expand the service to 50 cities by 2022. Starting with Bengaluru, Google Maps will also inform users of the speed limits data shared by traffic authorities. The Mumbai-based Genesys International has been a pioneer in the introduction of street imaging maps in India. Over the next 12 months, Genesys plans to cover all of urban India street imaging, spanning over a million kms. This makes it the largest street imaging exercise in the country. Genesys has the technology and capability to capture almost 150,000 unique kms of street imaging data, according to Sajid Malik, Chairman & Managing Director. To put this number into perspective, the island city of Mumbai is 5000 unique kms. The company is building one of the biggest imaging platforms in India, across both street and aerial, in sync with the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India reflected in the geospatial policy, added Malik.
The three-time chief minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee who had over the years made a clean image of her trademark white cotton sari and rubber chappals is on a path of image correction after the recent recovery of Rs 50 crore allegedly accumulated by her senior cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee. Right now, despite sacking Parthda (as referred to by Didi), the TMC supremo needs to rebuild her image with the Opposition parties. After her thumping hat-trick win in Assembly Polls last year, Mamata was upbeat and confident of taking her brand national and becoming the fulcrum of the Opposition’s planned league against Prime Minister Modi for the 2024 general election. But the TMC chief still does not hold all the cards in the fight against BJP and needs to build bridges with the rest of the Opposition. Mamata will be in Delhi from August 4-8, says party source. Though the official reason for her visit is to boost the confidence of TMC MPs who have been at the forefront of protests against the Modi government. Also, her meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi remains unclear due to TMC’s strained relationship with Congress. It is also being said that the TMC chief is likely to make an appearance in the Central Hall of the Parliament.
On July 21, a beautifully decked up bride left her home with 4000 well-wishers (read workers) shedding tears and bidding her adieu. That was not just the last Ford EcoSport car rolling out of their beloved Ford manufacturing plant at Maraimalainagar in Tamil Nadu. It was the end of the road for all 4000 workers with the Ford parent deciding to exit India. The Chennai plant was set up in 1995 on 350 acres to make 4 lakh vehicles along with the Gujarat plant. The Figo, Endeavour, Ikon, EcoSport were hugely popular. But how long can a business sustain losses, whatever the emotional quotient tagged to a product made with pride? The President of Ford Motors, Jim Farley had candidly admitted that Ford had accumulated $ 2 billion losses producing only 80,000 vehicles a year with the plant having an installed capacity of 4 lakh vehicles. The Covid-19 lockdown, global downturn and business cycle factors are quoted ad nauseam. Even a brief dalliance for a second time with Mahindra was tried in 2019. No one can really pinpoint why it did not succeed. But for now, it is the plight of these 4000 workers that is heart wrenching. Even as we talk about Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, the future of such trained dedicated workers who suffer the whims of global business has to be seriously considered.
The Modi-Stalin bonhomie at the inaugural of the Chess Olympiad would not have gone unnoticed. The DMK and BJP may be daggers drawn in Tamil Nadu but the top brass of both parties are such pals in public that the signals can be confusing to the cadres. The good vibes between the leaders, despite the crosscurrents of Tamil pride versus Indian nationalism, may however lead to changes in political alignments. The DMK-Congress ties are already strained in the State. The local Congress honcho put out a statement criticising the police for selective action with regard to sticking of PM Narendra Modi’s images on images by the BJP on the hoardings and billboards promoting the chess event and the blackening of those images by DMK men. Knowing full well that Stalin is in charge of the Home Department and the police come directly under him, the Congress statement seems deliberate. The theory that the AIADMK is cosying up to Congress in Tamil Nadu in order to woo the minority voters in the next Assembly polls may be outlandish. The fact is anything is possible in politics, even in Tamil Nadu where DMK has been with the Congress much longer than in its ties with the NDA and BJP in occasional trysts for a share of capital power.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.