Congress leaders from Karnataka are vying with each other to field Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a Rajya Sabha candidate from the state. While it is unclear whether Priyanka has decided yet, her attendance at the birthday bash of Karnataka PCC president DK Shivakumar at Udaipur, on the last day of Nav Sankalp Shivir on May 15, was an indication. She even cut the cake and handed Shivakumar a slice. Karnataka Congressmen who witnessed the event are certain Priyanka will accept their Rajya Sabha proposal. They want Priyanka’s entry into their state’s politics to boost electoral prospects in the 2023 state assembly polls. “We have enough MLAs to elect an MP,” a senior Karnataka Congress leader said. The BJP declared candidates for all four seats from Karnataka. Priyanka’s baby steps into parliamentary politics in Rajya Sabha would see her emulate grand-mother Indira Gandhi, who became a Rajya Sabha MP, in the initial years of her politics. It is quite another matter that Indira Gandhi represented Uttar Pradesh (between Aug 1964 and Feb 1967) in the Rajya Sabha, served as I & B minister before ascending to the PM’s post.  With Congress winning two assembly seats and registering a mere 2.3% vote share in the UP 2022 polls, Priyanka may feel inclined to venture into electoral polls as an MP in 2024.

Every punch landed just right for Nikhat Zareen in Istanbul, Turkey. At only 25-years-old, she punched her way to glory, scoring 5 -0 jury verdicts in all five bouts to win the gold medal and a cool $ 100,000 (Rs 77.52 lakh) cash prize. The young pugilist from Nizamabad, Telangana was not allowed to compete in a trial bout with the more famous Mary Kom prior to the Tokyo Olympics. She has proved her mettle now within the flyweight category (50-52 kg) at the International Boxing Association organized Women’s World Boxing Championships held in Istanbul. Since 2011, when she won the World Junior Women’s Gold at Antalya, Turkey, she had secured financial support from entrepreneur Jaithirth “Jerry” Rao. “Jerry is also supporting Maharashtra’s upcoming woman boxer Alfiya Pathan. More corporations and individuals must support boxing. Now, Nikhat should compete in both the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this year and the Asian Games in China (postponed because of the pandemic),” said a happy Kishan Narsi, former international referee-judge and technical expert. Nikhat, who beat boxers from Mexico, Mongolia, England, Brazil and Thailand to win $100,000 in prize money was introduced at the World meet in Belgrade (Serbia) last year. Two other Indian women Parveen and Manisha won bronze medals and a cash prize of $25,000 each (Rs 19 lakh).

Rahul Gandhi is apparently upset over the DMK Government’s handling of the AG Perarivalan case. One of the convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Perarivalan, served 31 years of his jail term before being released by the Supreme Court on May 18. The verdict may pave the way for the release of six other convicts in the case. An upset Rahul asked close aide Randeep Surjewala to issue a statement against the judgement even as he was traveling to the UK to speak at the “Ideas for India” conference and “India @75” at the Cambridge University. Tamil Nadu Congressmen are questioning Surjwewala’s attack on the Modi Government over the case, not DMK.  “At least Delhi delayed it out of respect for Rajiv Gandhi. It is the DMK which has not cared for assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,” said an anguished Congress leader. Congressmen were particularly upset with the manner in which Chief Minister MK Stalin immediately felicitated Perarivalan and his mother in his office. “What was the rush? Does the life of a PM have no value in this country?  If we had any self-respect, we should have snapped ties with the DMK. Why should we cling to them for the sake of a Rajya Sabha seat?” asked a partyman.

Is Salman Khan playing Bollywood Sugar-Daddy? So, it seems and, has been for some time now. Few are vocal or, even make it an issue preferring to instead, quietly drop out of projects. His growing interference came to fore once again when his favourite Bigg Boss contestant Shehnaaz Gill was signed up for Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali. Sources say Salman took issue with producer Sajid Nadiadwala, his best friend, over the star cast including co-stars Arshad Warsi and Shreyas Talpade. Salman apparently pitched Zaheer Iqbal and Aayush SHarma for the respective roles instead. Probably, one of the reasons Sajid walked out of the Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali project. It appears that economic viability does not bother Salman. Those who have known him closely say he always got involved with star casting and pushed his personal preferences for films he signed up for. Even in the past, he did the same to co-star with Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor. In recent times Daisy Shah and Jacqueline Fernandez were his choice of co-stars. He was also the one who pushed Katrina Kaif for Bharat after Priyanka Chopra opted out. Sometime back a well-known and favourite director of the actor preferred to shelve his film rather than giving into the actor’s whims and fancy over who he should sign up or not.

It was a double whammy for the Punjab Congress.  First, former Punjab PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu got sentenced to a one year jail term by the Supreme Court in a 34- year old road rage case, after leading the Congress in the state with disastrous results in the assembly polls two months ago, paving the way for AAP’s rule. In an equally interesting development former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar enrolled with the BJP. In a massive setback, Sidhu was forced to surrender before court to serve out his year-long “rigorous imprisonment”. “Will submit to the majesty of law…,” he tweeted. The apex court was responding to an appeal against its own order of 2018 which set aside Punjab & Haryana High Court order saying there was no evidence the man could have died of a single blow. But it held the cricketer-politician guilty of causing hurt to a senior citizen. In 2006, the Punjab and Haryana High court had convicted Sidhu of culpable homicide and sentenced him to three years in jail. In 2018, Sidhu approached the Supreme Court, which set aside the order. Meanwhile, with Jakhar joining BJP, Punjab Congress leaders say others are set to leave the party as well. PCC chief Amrinder Singh Warring is being blamed for the exits.

Filing nominations for 57 Rajya Sabha vacancies spread across 15 states will begin next week and continue till May 31.  Yet, in the Congress informally, there is a sense that opportunities will be far and few and spread in a way no one feels they have got a raw deal. The buzz so far is that prominent G-23 leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is keen on a Rajya Sabha seat, will be accommodated from Rajasthan. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is willing to accommodate Azad from the first two regular vacancies. For the third seat, the party has advised beleaguered leader P Chidambaram to go for it. This third seat will require support from independent MLAs, who are already backing the Government. It is being said that Kapil Sibal could be moving from UP to Jharkhand. Vivek Tankha could move from Madhya Pradesh to the lone vacancy in Chattisgarh. Even then there is no clarity on who would come from Maharashtra, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. While it is still possible, Mukul Wasnik could clinch the Maharashtra seat, even as Rahul Gandhi may try to push for his close aide Praveen Chakravarty from Tamil Nadu. In Haryana, Bhupinder Hooda has refused to accept Randeep Surjewala as a RS candidate. There could be a dark horse like the old party hand Janardhan Dwivedi.

Tamilians celebrated the release of AG Perarivalan, aka Arivu, from incarceration by the Supreme Court that invoked its special powers under Article 142. Terming Perarivalan totally innocent in the conspiracy to assassinate former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 would be untrue. A known LTTE sympathiser Arivu actively involved in small jobs like ferrying cassette tapes of regional news about ongoing events in Tamil Nadu. He was a member of the team that made dry runs to meetings of Rajiv Gandhi and PM VP Singh in Chennai. He was not part of the innermost circle that planned the assassination considering the many layers of secrecy existing in the militant organisation, LTTE and, how its Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran operated. He procured two 9-volt batteries for the one-eyed member of the assassin squad, Sivarajan, who may have used these in the belt bomb, taking a leaf right out of a Frederick Forsyth novel, which the assassin wore and triggered when ostensibly garlanding Rajiv Gandhi. Arivu was a model prisoner, who served more than a life term for his role in the LTTE sponsored political assassination. Having paid his debt to society he may not be begrudging his freedom now. Most LTTE sympathisers then harboured ill will against Rajiv Gandhi, for ordering Indian Peace Keeping Forces to intervene in Sri Lanka during the ethnic crisis.

Saraswat Brahmin entrepreneurs from across the globe will converge in Goa come September 10, for the first Annual Conclave. The Saraswat Brahmin community of business leaders from different parts of the world joined hands and formed the Global Saraswat Entrepreneurs Chamber (GSEC) in 2019, resurrecting the nearly 30-year-old Saraswat Chamber of Commerce set up by Suresh Prabhu, senior BJP leader and former chairman of the Saraswat Cooperative Bank. This one-day conference is expected to draw some of the biggest names from the community including, Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, singer activist Hemaa Sardesai, hoteliers Vithal Kamat (Kamat Hotels Group), Raghunandan Kamath (Natural Ice Creams) and Marathi actor Ashok Saraf to name just a few. The underlying objective of the conclave “to build a wise, vibrant and prosperous community ecosystem for Saraswats in business and profession,” says Siddharth Sinkar, founder director of GCSE. The Saraswat community is primarily known as an ethical and philanthropic segment of society that channelised and harnessed cumulative energies for collective excellence in society. In the fields of business and commerce the community has been a frontrunner in the banking and cooperatives sectors.

Scratch a politician and foreign accounts will pop up. This is not a particular Indian phenomenon. From the day Indira Gandhi was heard asking about Sanjay Gandhi’s watch after he died in a light plane crash it has been known Indian politicians revelled in stashing money away from prying Indian eyes. But it must be said it’s not particularly bright to keep stashing money when it can act better as capital, which is what smart businessmen keep telling politicians. The troubles the Chidambarams, father and son, are going through are not new to them. They may be the cleverer lawyer types knowing that money should be shrouded in several layers to make it difficult for snooping bureaucrats, no great shakes when it comes to analysing hidden money games, to ferret out. At a time when Chidambaram is trying to convince the Congress high command (read Sonia Gandhi) that his Rajya Sabha innings must continue through the seat so magnanimously offered by Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, the latest set of CBI raids may be just an inconvenience. In fact, the grand old party might honour PC with a longer run in the Upper House thanks to these perennial raids, one of which was so poorly handled that some operatives were hanging from the roof of the former finance minister’s house in New Delhi when he was to be arrested.

When news of Thrissur MP TN Prathapan’s resignation as National Chairman of the All India Fishermen Congress came in, everyone felt an idea of NavSankalp Chintan Shivir — about fixed tenure of 5 years — had kicked in. But then senior Congress leaders were quite surprised. Was Prathapan jumping the gun? After all, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had announced a compact Task Force that would be set up to drive the process of internal reforms that “are essential and that has been discussed in different groups at Udaipur.”  The task force was to cover all aspects of reforms with focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls including appointments to party posts. The composition of the Task Force was to be notified in the next ttwo-three days. Prathapan’s colleagues felt he was probably trying to grab some five minutes of fame. “Don’t take Prathapan seriously — this is just his antics. The task force will take a call on all aspects of what Soniaji has said,” said a senior Kerala leader. Incidentally it was AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik who had proposed a 5-year tenure freeze for party posts. Wasnik feels everyone must get a chance at the top.  “I have put in 24 years — held various positions; I have been a general secretary for 20 years. I held it even as a Union Minister in the UPA Government.”

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) can take credit for the Indian men’s badminton team’s trailblazing Thomas Cup win, prevailing over Asian giants like Malaysia and Indonesia and the European powerhouse, Denmark. The SAI, which has been proactive and hands-on supporting sports federations and Elite Athletes, is an Independent organisation under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Over the last four years, it had funded badminton to the tune of Rs 67.19 crore, in particular for the men and women players’ training and competitions overseas. In the last 12 months the SAI defrayed the cost of 14 international exposure tournaments, Rs 4.5 crore, to the Elite players. The SAI also engaged foreign coaches for the singles and doubles players. Soon after the win in Bangkok, the SAI said: “The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has contributed to the unprecedented success of the team… A 10-week National Camp in January helped raise the fitness levels of the players. The support to engage Mathias Boe as coach to assist the doubles combinations has been significant as well.” Former All England men’s singles winner and Chief National Coach Pullela Gopichand — who along with the legendary Prakash Padukone are responsible for popularising the game — told shortpost.in that he is optimistic of the SAI extending support to the junior players. A big shabash to the SAI for providing succour to Indian sport and its athletes.

The untimely death of Sushant Singh Rajput kicked up national outrage over nepotism and debate on the outsider vs insider discrimination in Bollywood.  Zoya Akhtar’s latest project The Archies adds more grist to the mill. This film, directed by an established insider Zoya, will launch Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agatsya Nanda. Interestingly, the parents of all these star kids have respective home productions but, are being launched by Zoya Akhtar, the unconventional producer known for his content driven cinema.  It is an unconventional launch for the youngsters. While Zoya cannot escape nepotism allegations as she chose the Bollywood insiders to star in the film. One would have thought SRK and Big B would avoid playing it up on social media out of fear of being trolled but, both just went ahead and tweeted emotional posts. Guari Khan wrote: `Suhana you did it’ and Amitabh Bachchan said, “Rise of the Son’’. The nepotism debate was immediately sparked off online as netizens passed judgement on the actors as white kids minus a Suhana Khan. Whether it was talent or nepotism that launched these star kids will be settled soon enough. Yes, these star kids will have to prove to the world that they carry the genes of their superstar parents.

In an unexpected move, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar nominated a low-profile Janata Dal (U) office-bearer Anil Hegde as the candidate for the by-election to his party quota Rajya Sabha seat. The seat became vacant after the death of MP Mahendra Prasad. Hegde will only enjoy a short term until April 2024. Nitish was keen to send party functionary Hegde to the Rajya Sabha to help him secure his future. Hegde was a close associate of the late George Fernandes, had functioned as JD(U)’s national election officer. Party sources say the CM wanted to ensure Hegde was able to draw a pension. Initially, Nitish considered sending him to the Bihar Legislative Council.  “I have been living in the JD(U) office in Patna for the past 12 years,” said Hegde, who hails from Bengaluru. Hegde has for long been the JD(U)’s national election officer, responsible for coordination between the party and the Election Commission during assembly and parliamentary polls. In securing the party nomination, Hegde has edged out many others who were in the race including the party’s national secretary general K C Tyagi.

Looks like Tesla may not roll out its EV in India anytime soon. Sources say Tesla recently transferred some key officials out of India to alternate global markets in APEC, Middle East and the USA. This indicates that Elon Musk, who was keen on the Indian market, has decided to move on for the time being. Indianconsumers will buy what’s produced in India by Tata Motors, Mahindra, Morris Garage, Hyundai and Maruti presently. Primarily, Tesla chose not to enter the Indian market because of Indian government policies. Given our relationship with China and Modi’s push for Make in India, the BJP government was averse to allow made in China Tesla cars, boosting Chinese employment, but marketed in India without an immediate commitment to manufacture in India? There are several reasons Musk may have put India on the back burner. Firstly, current EV sales touch barely 1% of total auto sales in the country which does not make economic sense for Tesla to set up a unit in India. Secondly, with 100% import duty, Tesla will become over priced in the Indian market. Thirdly, India is not yet ready with its infrastructure, including road worthiness and charging stations. And, fourth reason is Indian insistence on a long term manufacturing commitment, distinct from being considered like a test pilot case.

As if competition from local Indian players was not enough, mainline OTT players are now facing heat from a fresh wave of regional players. Following in the footsteps of Zee 5, Sony Liv, Voot et all are MX Player in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Bengali, Alt-Balaji and Eros in Hindi, Hoichoi in Bangla, Aha in Telugu, now expanding into Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, Manorama Max, Neestream and Koode in Malayalam, Kanncha Lannka in Odiya, My Toonz (Kids OTT in Hindi and English). And, so many more are still lining up. Why is the Indian market turning out to be a different ball game? None of the big players are standalone entities like Netflix. Disney has the backing of Star group and Hot Star, Amazon Prime has Amazon Shopping and online services, Zee 5 has the Zee TV group, Sony Liv is with Sony TV group, Viacom 18 boasts of Paramount + while Sun Next has the parent Sun group. And if this was not enough, there is a new entrant in the form of the James Murdoch-Uday Shankar combine tying up with Reliance’s Jio Cinema. Competition is sizzling up in the OTT space with viewers beginning to feel like kings.

In just four days of streaming on YouTube, Kamal Haasan set a world record crooning the first song from his action-thriller movie Vikram. The electric rhythm and electrifying lyrics of Pathala, Pathala (can’t have enough) have sent his legion of fans into ecstatic frenzy. Kamal’s team pulled out all the stops to make Vikram and its music a customised stimulating experience. The ensemble cast including 67-year old Haasan has Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh, Kalidas Jayaram and, a cameo by Surya. No prizes for guessing the ingredients for this potpourri action thriller directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj in which Kamal dons khakhi. It is pure Chennai petta rap like Bombaiya, full of irreverent political innuendos, taking on both the Center and the ruling party, besides other public Rasputins. Sweet revenge for all his failures? Ultimately, what nails this song is Kamal’s energetic tempo of dirty dancing that has pumped up hysteria. A crazed fan adds, “What Rajini got with a lifetime of style, Kamal has belted out in one song “. Is Janaki meant to take on a Tamil Nadu BJP functionary? Already, an obfuscated vigilante has filed a case against the song for its controversial lyrics. Both Kamal’s political avatar and cinematic charisma sorely need an upturn. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be pathala, pathala….just not enough.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s decision to allow ‘Pattina Pravesam’, by which the head of a mutt is carried in a palanquin by his disciples, is practical considering its ancient traditional significance. Rationalists may baulk at such practices but, when it comes to matters of faith, it may be best to leave it to the faithful than trying to introduce mandatory reforms. Not only did the CM assess the situation as one that would add to the existing anxiety around his tendency to favour minority rights, without much caring for the majority community but, also because he has a staunch believer living at his home, his wife Durga. The CM probably felt the need to maintain a happy balance. How does the voluntary action of believers, who wish to carry a living person in a palanquin, trample upon the rights of others, activists ask? The other side of the faith and rationalism divide, which is pretty well marked in Tamil Nadu. They point to rituals of other faiths that could draw criticism in equal measure on the yardstick of human rights. The CM told the seers that the ritual may go ahead this year and that the issue would be discussed in detail later. The woke crowd may, however, may keep the pot boiling. Only, for now religious peace was allowed to prevail.

From the way the three-day brainstorming session of Congress in Rajasthan’s Udaipur took off on May 13 it was quite clear the focus would be more futuristic than post mortem — what happened early this year. It was decided that there would be no chintan over how it lost four state assembly elections. The shivir had already been renamed as Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir. That is how the Congress could emerge with a formula to fight its challenges in the next two years. A number of ideas were floated .There was a proposal to ensure that party leaders don’t give tickets to their kin or relatives without any work in the party, at least 5 years of prior work in the party will be required. Indicating the return of Rahul Gandhi back as AICC president, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said “Any person who is holding the post continuously has to step down and a cooling period of three years in case that person comes back to the same post.” Rahul had quit as Congress president in 2019 accepting responsibility for the party’s rout. Udaipur shivir is being touted as a bid to crown Rahul again as Congress chief. Those close to Rahul are not sure if the Wayanad MP could be easily persuaded.

One more movie has bombed at the box office. Ranveer Singh starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar. It is the fourth actor driven film that has evoked poor audience response. Earlier, it was Bachchhan Pandey, Jersey, and Heropanti2. Only exception in recent times was Gangubai Kathiawadi; it had versatile actress Alia Bhatt and star director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Bollywood stars and directors need to understand that a new class of audience is emerging post-Covid pandemic. These people not only seem to smell the film in advance but have also developed a palate for OTT content and South Cinemas. Akshay Kumar must have had maximum releases in the last two years but has a poor success rate. Salman Khan’s attempt to save Antim by visiting theatres did not save the film and even Tiger Shroff who has strong youth connect had the first flop (Heropanti2) to his credit. The South Indian cinemas are thriving on star power supported by a very strong content. But in Bollywood content seems to be given short shrift. The message that is coming out loud and clear is signing up top class stars is no insurance any more. The days of star power are over. Time Bollywood wakes up and smells the coffee lest the south based stars dubbing in Hindi will emerge as the real alternative.

Looks like the Congress is emulating PM Narendra Modi’s idea of setting an upper age limit for party posts. However these copycat ideas on age-limit simply caught Congress leaders by surprise as they were brought into the public domain even without a discussion. Senior Congress leaders were gripped by a sense of uncertainty. Now it is easy to see why a senior MP such as Kapil Sibal, 73, decided to give the Udaipur event a miss as he surely must not be depending on the Congress to find him a Rajya Sabha seat. Sibal is an MP from Uttar Pradesh where the Congress has just two MLAs. Party sources also said the guest lists to the chintan shivir seemed to have been drawn up very whimsically. “Most of the leaders from election-going states such as Himachal or Gujarat were missing. They have not called MLAs. It is as if the Congress does not want to have MLAs,” said the Telangana leader. “I would be shocked if I were invited. I know Congress leadership only wants to hear nice things. They want to put Rahul Gandhi back in the saddle. So they ensured discordant voices are kept away,” says a Himachal MLA. Yet in midst of all this pick and choose, Karnataka strongman D K Shivkumar managed to take a contingent of  50 people to Udaipur. Total number of delegates allowed: 430.

H S Prannoy is the talk of the town. This 1.78 m tall shuttlecock player has placed India on the verge of a historic Thomas Cup glory. “Should India win the title in Bangkok come Sunday (May 15), it would be akin to India winning the 1983 cricket World Cup,” said Sanjay Sharma who played under Indian legend Prakash Padukone in the 1979 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Prannoy got a direct entry into the men’s team. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) selection committee naturally chose players up to the Top 15 world rankings for the direct entry category, but made an exception in the case of 29-year-old Prannoy, ranked 23. The BAI General Secretary Sanjay Mishra said: “Since he has performed consistently at top international events, and also beat top players consistently, he was considered for selection directly, without having to participate in the trials.” And how well has the Thiruvananthapuram born Prannoy responded to the selectors’ call? Despite an ankle injury he downed Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in the semi-final tie and Malaysia’s Jun Hao Leong earlier, in the quarter-finals. This after after Kidambi Srikanth and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty had done the spadework. Indonesia will be a tough nut to crack, and the boys coached by Padukone, Pullela Gopichand and Uday Pawar need all the luck to take India past the finishing line.

As the blame game comes to a close, defending champions in IPL-15, the Chennai Super Kings team thinks on its way forward. The confusion over captaincy and bidding around it that went haywire with the franchise seeking Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer for an interim period to take over from Dhoni is being attributed to high-profile marketing guru who was imported from Mumbai Indians. Unwilling to pay an exorbitant price for a new captain, CSK stuck with Ravindra Jadeja, an experiment that was a big flop because Jadeja lacked the urban, communicative qualities needed to be a leader. In order to stop any erosion of its billion-dollar valuation, CSK has swung right back to Dhoni, who has indicated that he will continue to lead the team till a settled succession plan is put in place. In any case, Dhoni will not retire from the arena without playing a match in his favourite city of Chennai and is expected to be in the saddle for IPL 2023 also. The franchise avers that there is nothing wrong with their links with Jadeja as a player and that he is free to stay and recover from the disappointment of having the captaincy taken from him. Dhoni remains the key to their immediate future plans and he is able and willing.

With ongoing investigations by CBI on close associates, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has deployed a new weapon to run down the probe agency. On the 161st birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on May 7 Mamata pointed out that the stolen Nobel Prize medallion of Tagore was yet to be recovered by the CBI. “I still feel sad that the Nobel Prize has not been recovered. The incident dates back to the Left (Front) regime,” she noted. The medallion was stolen in 2004 from the museum at Visva Bharati University founded at Santiniketan in Birbhum district. The Prime Minister, is the chancellor of Bengal’s only central university – Visva Bharati. Then, CPI (M) Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had promptly handed over the probe to CBI which permanently closed investigations in 2009, citing lack of new leads. In 2016, the CID in WB had arrested a folk singer suspecting his role in the robbery.  In 2017 Mamata urged CBI to hand over the case to the state CID, which the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had declined. However, Tagore’s Nobel medallion, a replica of the actual gold medal, is not the only one stolen in recent years. Children rights activist Kailash Satyarthi’s Nobel medallion was similarly stolen from his Delhi residence in 2017 but, recovered by the Delhi Police within five days.

It is no thanks to the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT’s) vigilance that both, the private sector and government-owned companies brazenly breach environmental laws and, very happily pay the prescribed fines. The reality is that the importance of environmental conservation is not given its due consideration with the NGT mandated penalty system not a functional and practical deterrent. Observers say, tougher measures are needed for the private sector and government-owned companies like NTPC, Indian Oil, BPCL, Singareni Collieries and others that boast of a track record of repeat environmental violations. Without the government’s continued commitment, NGT cannot deliver results by itself and, sadly, tough government intervention is only seen in the wake of intense public pressure. Take the case of the Vedanta Group which had to shut down its Thoothukudi plant, over Sterlite’s pollution issue. No lessons appear to have been learnt from it. Recently, NGT fined Vedanta Rs 25 crore for the expansion of the Lanjigarh factory in Odisha without due EC clearances and also levied a Rs 25 crore penalty upon Hindustan Zinc for violating environment norms in Rajasthan. Sometime in 2017, Vedanta was asked by the Chhatisgarh government to shut down its 1200 mw Balco power plant for violations of environmental norms. Harsh measures yielded results and today, Balco’s power plant is one of the best energy conservation units in the country.

Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai is adept at ferreting out information from rival camps. Consider the impact of his ‘Breaking News’ regarding Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s hidden plans to carve out a brand-new state assembly complex at Mahabalipuram. Could it be similar to Putrajaya the Malaysian administrative campus, 25 km south of Kuala Lumpur? The DMK could be planning to build a rival monument to the 7th century world Heritage Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram! Grandiose dreams cost mucho money. Annamalai claims that the Government Order is already out, to acquire 6,000 acres of land, the initial smoke screen, ostensible Office of the DMK party, before embarking on the next phase of ambitious construction. Naturally, rival political parties termed the extravagant plan as a “scientific siphoning off, of the mega budget.” And already, allegations of six powerful ministers acquiring over 100 acres through benami purchases are flying thick and fast. Public memory still rankles over how J Jayalalithaa overturned all that Kalaignar built in 2006, on the Omandurar Estate by converting the massive complex into a tertiary hospital. Conflicts apart, fact is that much of the area at the Fort St. George complex belongs to the army, making it hard to expand and modernise. So, given the strong opposition, can Stalin and company still pull off his grandiose plan?

Netflix watched its subscription base lose around 900,000 viewers with 700,000 losses attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war and, 200,000 blamed upon other markets. To arrest viewership loss, Netflix is introducing a password sharing fee in the U.S. and other markets. It intends to generate more revenue from existing subscribers, one connection with multiple users. First introduced in Latin American markets, a progress report is awaited but, media pundits predict a further downslide of 10 to 13% in the U.S.A, post launch. After all, the choice is multi-fold. In India too, things aren’t moving as planned. Despite a first mover advantage, Netflix couldn’t hit the bullseye. Indications that more than 50% of content under production is on hold including season two of Delhi Crime. The current Indian content has failed to achieve desired traction milestones. An overhaul, review and new creative ideas are on the cards. Netflix slashed subscription rates a couple of months back to Rs 149 for its mobile pack and Rs 199 for mobile/TV packs. An update is anticipated. Netflix started with a bang with series like Fauda, House of Cards, Peaky Blinders, Money Heist, Friends and Indian series like Sacred Games. Renewed interest piqued through the Korean Series — Squid Game, 365 Days, and now Kota Factory. The latest blockbuster attraction — Gangubai Kathiawadi is expected to renew viewer interest in Netflix.

Pankaj Munjal of Hero Cycle’s fame has ambitiously big plans to strengthen the company’s presence in overseas markets, particularly across Europe. His company Insync Bikes Ltd has geared up to manufacture top end e-bikes at Trafford in the United Kingdom. Munjal, who visited UK to unveil his plans, told shortpost.in, “Manchester has given us more than what we had expected or planned.’’ The immediate future plan involves development as part of the budgeted £150m group-wide investment. His Manchester-based Global Design Centre has innovated an e-bike with artificial Intelligence functions that will incorporate advanced technologies such as Google services integration and introduce anti-theft systems and advanced telematics. Approximately 300 e-bikes will be manufactured every month at Trafford and priced at £3000 per piece. These e-bikes are expected to hit the road by August-September of 2022. The company received an award for being a Fast Track Indian company in the UK from among 900 companies surveyed by Grant Thornton in its India Meets Britain tracker report. Despite difficult conditions in the UK and Europe, Insync Bikes ranked 7th on the growth rate parameter. If the Indian experience is an indication, it will be among the top four players, sooner than later

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The South Side Story is always exciting. Family enterprises are a dime a dozen in this part of India. Some of them, especially in Tamil Nadu, are iconic names. These two industrial groups are definitely a name to reckon with, and they are trend setters in many ways. The TVS group, for instance. This venerable industrial house – comprising four families – has recently chosen to go their separate ways legally. With families expanding through fresh generational additions, the TVS group has done a remarkable job of succession planning. Now that they have separated legally, each family within the larger TVS tree has unhindered leeway to chart out their own individual paths. The Murugappa group, too, is another reputed name. It was the first to hit upon the idea of a group corporate board many summers ago, to delink the family from the management of their various enterprises. The Sanmar group under the late N Sankar took a cue from them. It was, however, a different matter that Murugappa junked the group corporate board a while ago. The Murugappa group, if grapevine is anything to go by, is now looking to emulate the TVS model of separation. Will the TVS model be the template for amicable resolution of succession planning in family businesses?

Mumbaikars facing an intense heat wave are scrambling for the comforts of air-conditioned local trains but, shying away from taking to the AC metro network, particularly new Metro lines between Goregaon and Dahisar. Buoyed by the generous 50% drop in AC train fares from Rs 65/ km down to Rs 35 per km, the fare cut has bolstered daily passenger footfalls from an average of 3385 daily passengers in April 2022 to 9116 AC passengers on May 5. This is in complete contrast to the almost-empty AC Metro trains running between Goregaon and Dahisar. A month since its inception, daily average footfalls recorded are around 27,000 passengers — 10 times lower than its carrying capacity of 3 lakh passengers daily. It registers maximum footfalls only on Sundays. Plagued by issues like last mile connectivity, technical glitches and less frequency has meant that the office-goers find it unreliable. Failure to link with the existing popular Metro line between Andheri and Ghatkopar is also a major drawback. Activists like Vidyadhar Date attribute its lacklustre response to poor planning by planners who never use public transport. It is evident. Metro rakes are running with a thin crowd right above the congested Western Express Highway with packed BEST buses, both AC and the non-AC ones. The issue seems to be regarding intermodal passenger connectivity.

Tamil Nadu BJP, under former IPS officer K Annamalai, has turned vibrant. Despite a motley crew – only four MLAs – the issues Annamalai has raised has piqued interest for the saffron party. Even DMK leaders and relatives are keen to join BJP, many of them unsure of surviving the generational shift within DMK. With CM M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi assuming a bigger role, seniors in DMK are feeling side-lined. Many MPs are considering moving out. Former AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa Ramaswamy was first to join BJP. After that, some sitting DMK MPs evinced an interest to enrol before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While Sasikala Pushpa became BJP vice-president and former DMK MLA A G Sampath got a similar post. Significantly, Suriyaa Siva, son of DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva, joined the BJP saying he was ignored in the Dravidian party because of the ongoing cold war within. His exit may not affect his father as they were not on talking terms. Suriyaa’s entry into Kamalalayam BJP in T Nagar Chennai will, however, shake up the DMK. What must worry the DMK leadership is talk of more seniors shipping out.  All in all, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Chennai has really paid off.

On May 6, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s office received an unusual request from the office of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, about a handful of Congress leaders seeking access to the Central Hall of Parliament. The manner in which the request was made, when Parliament was not in session, seemed a little odd. Kharge wanted to garland the portrait of Motilal Nehru on his birth anniversary. Normally, when a portrait of a dignitary is to be garlanded, the Lok Sabha makes necessary arrangements for it. Leaders are then invited to come and join in paying tributes. For some reason Kharge decided to pay tribute to Motilal Nehru — a former Congress President in pre-Independent India — inside Parliament. It’s not clear whether he wanted to flaunt his loyalty to the Gandhi family or, if he was trying to assert his tenuous status as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha — a position that the Congress may find difficult to hold on to beyond two months with many party MPs in Rajya Sabha set to retire. The Congress needs a critical tally of 10% of the strength of the House or, it will meet the same fate as it does in Lok Sabha.

The BCCI has pulled out all stops to run the Tata IPL-15 without engaging a third party. Barring a few players catching the Covid-19 bug that necessitated relocation of venues for two matches featuring the Delhi Capitals, the league has gone on without a glitch. From 2008 to 2020, the high-end revenue generating Twenty20 competition was supervised by the IMG, the New York-based sports management company. The BCCI parted ways with it at the conclusion of the 13th season in the UAE. The financial agreement with the agency had run into problems in 2008, before it was reworked to Rs 27 crore per season. The agreement was revised in 2017 with an augmented fee. “It’s an achievement. No doubt about it. The IMG had engaged a few of its own officials and many Indians. The BCCI has engaged perhaps the same local talent to run the show and saved Rs 35 plus crore,” said a former BCCI functionary. The BCCI paid a compensation of around Rs 100 crore to the Emirates Cricket Board (in 2020) and a little less last year. It has committed to pay Rs 60 lakh per match to the four associations (Mumbai, Maharashtra, Cricket Club of India, and DY Patil); and the compensation money adds to Rs 42 crore as host fee. All good for the faithful in India.

Known for his gentlemanly demeanor, actor R Madhavan who enjoys a pan India appeal finds himself zooming into space with his directorial debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. The biopic is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, former scientist and aerospace engineer from ISRO, who was falsely accused of espionage. Written and directed by him, Maddy as he is popularly known essays the key role. He has chosen a story as thrilling as a rocket launch into space, and also depict Nambi’s life who was jailed, tortured and forced to confess to a crime he did not commit. He was exonerated and acquitted subsequently. Making amends the Indian government decorated him with a Padma Bhushan. Maddy has struck platinum as the film will be screened at Cannes on May 19, in the prime time 9 pm slot, as India’s entry for the Red-Carpet world premier and inaugural of the 75th Independence Day Palaise De Festival. “As a debutante, of course, I am nervous, I hope Rocketry brings glory to India “. The movie made in three languages – English, Tamil and Hindi – was extensively shot in France, Canada and Georgia. The world premiere is on July 1, 2022. Madhavan’s choice of subject that has all the ingredients — intrigue, skull-duggery and glory – seems the best lift-off for a debutante.

There is a strong buzz that former Indian cricket captain and incumbent BCCI president Sourav Ganguly could be the President’s nominee for the Rajya Sabha. In that event, he will follow in the footsteps of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, the first ever sports person nominated to the Rajya Sabha or to the Council of States in 2012 by the UPA Government. Ganguly’s nomination seems a distinct possibility as the second sportsperson after boxing champion Mary Kom was appointed to Rajya Sabha in April 2016 and has completed her term. Speculations around Ganguly as Rajya Sabha MP gained currency following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Sourav Ganguly’s residence over dinner with his family last week. A day after Shah’s visit, Ganguly also spoke of his close relations with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He similarly showered praise on minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim. Once elevated as a Rajya Sabha nominee, Sourav Ganguly, who is worshipped as an icon in Bengal, may no longer feel pressured to manage the balancing between the BJP and TMC.  Aware of abounding conjecture, Ganguly asserted he has known Amit Shah since 2008. “While playing, I used to meet him. There’s nothing more than that”. He also pointed out that as BCCI president he worked closely with Shah’s son, Jay Shah who is BCCI secretary.

It can be announced over loudspeakers now that the BJP won the first round of battle with the Shiv Sena. Rest assured, the MNS chief won’t object to it as the credit for the BJP’s stupendous feat goes not just to the party’s astute political tactics but also to Raj Thackeray.  According to experts, the BJP is fully aware that no other party uses the Hindutva card better than them, and that it is the first choice for people following that ideology. Therefore, it gave Raj Thackeray enough room to perform his stunts. Lapping up the opportunity to resurrect his outfit that was virtually becoming irrelevant in Maharashtra politics, the MNS chief managed to confuse Shiv Sena workers by invoking Hindu Hriday Samrat, the late Balasaheb Thackeray. However, seeing Thackeray’s rising stature the BJP was quick to cut him down to size. Political analysts assert that the BJP won’t allow any non-BJP leader to become the torchbearer of Hindutva. Hence, the party’s MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh Brij Bhushan Singh was brought into the picture. Singh warned Thackeray that he will not be allowed to enter Ayodhya until he apologizes to all North Indians with folded hands. Thus, along with disturbing the Shiv Sena’s vote bank, the BJP earned the goodwill of North Indians — all thanks to Raj Thackeray.

After Akshay Kumar (Bachchan Pandey), Bollywood star Shahid Kapur (Jersey) too disappointed fans. Then Tiger Shroff’s latest movie Heropanti2 bombed at the box office. Surprisingly, audiences preferred to go to theatres to watch the dubbed version of Kannada movie KGF 2 and not Heropanti2. This was strange! Has something gone wrong for Bollywood that audiences refuse to even enter cinema halls? Marathi films like Sher Shivraj and Chandramukhi drew better crowds than Tiger’s movie. Trade pundits are at pains explaining that the true villain is poor content. Be that as it may, Tiger Shroff needs to reinvent himself.  Sculpted body, martial fights and dance cannot propel his career much further. The 32-year-old action hero — son of Jackie and Ayesha Shroff — impressed everybody in his first movie Heropanti in 2014.  This was followed by hits like Baaghi and War. In War his talent came to the fore against Hrithik Roshan. Well-wishers feel Tiger, with a huge fan following, should pick and choose his scripts and directors; stop working with directors who aren’t really film makers. He has a couple of interesting projects in the pipeline like Ganapath, an action film directed by Vikas Bahl and the remake of Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan with Akshay Kumar.  Both movies will decide Tiger’s future. Will the Tiger roar or whimper? Only time will tell.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in an expose on the AAP Government of Punjab, has cited the posting of notorious policeman K S Sandhu (Kuljinder Singh) as DSP (Detective), Mohali allegedly at the behest of main accused in the Bhola drug case Sarabjit Singh. Sirsa said Sandhu was used to carry out the illegal action of picking up BJP spokesman Tajinder Singh Bagga from his home yesterday. Sirsa further said that DSP K S Sandhu was the notorious Kuljinder Singh, who was posted as DSP (Detective), Mohali on instructions of drug lord Sarabjit Singh. He also played an audio of a purported conversation between Punjab DGP and the drug lord. “Why was this ‘defaulter cop’ Kuljinder, with links to criminals, used by the AAP Government to pick up Bagga? Why is Punjab favouring a dismissed cop to do its hatchet job?” he asked. Meanwhile, a petition filed by the Punjab Government before the Punjab & Haryana High Court in the Bagga case was adjourned to May 10 as the matter pertained to a different Bench, according to ASG Satya Pal Jain representing the Delhi Police. Explaining Bagga’s release, he said the BJP leader was taken into Police custody after the search warrant was issued by a competent Delhi police officer. His medical examination was conducted; he was produced in court and the court released him.

Indian cricket is all set to return to normalcy with the BCCI allotting the five match Twenty20 internationals against South Africa to five affiliated associations of Delhi, Odisha (Cuttack), Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam), Saurashtra (Rajkot) and Bengaluru. The series will be played from June 9 to 19.  For the first time in two years, famished cricket fans in the four cities (excluding Bengaluru) will get to see the Indian stars in action in their own backyard. The BCCI will begin fiscal 2022-2023 with a revenue between Rs 450 and Rs 500 crore, and the associations too, will make money out of in-stadia advertising. However, a matter of high import pertains to the selectors picking a Rohit Sharma led team along with Head Coach Rahul Dravid and fixing a few niggles before the Asia Cup Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the ICC Men’s World Twenty20 slated for the Australian summer. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the white ball home series has been held in Ahmedabad (5 against England and 3 against the West Indies), in Pune (3 against England) in Kolkata (1 against New Zealand and 3 against the West Indies), and Lucknow (1 against Sri Lanka) and Dharamsala (2 against Sri Lanka).  Now its Bharat darshan for the teams, but nevertheless, good news for cricket fans!

Two days back senior Congress leader and lawyer P Chidambaram was heckled by Congress legal cell members, even called a TMC agent, when he appeared in the Calcutta High Court to oppose a PIL filed by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress group leader in the Lok Sabha. The Bengal Congress leader did not express remorse over the incident and instead chose to describe it as a spontaneous expression of outrage by the party’s legal cell. His defence that he wasn’t even present in Kolkata was at best, a weak explanation. The case pertains to the 2017 sale of the West Bengal government’s entire 47% stake in Metro Dairy to Keventer Agro, the project’s only private partner which, a short while later, sold 15% of its stake to a Singapore-based firm at a higher price. Adhir Ranjan filed the petition in 2018, demanding a CBI probe into what he alleged was a scam. What some Bengal leaders can’t understand is how Chowdhury continues to wield multiple posts — he remains PCC chief though he failed to win a single seat in the last assembly elections. Besides, he continues to be the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. And to top it all, he continues as leader of the Congress group in the Lok Sabha. No doubt, Chidambaram will find a subtle way to settle the score.

In a major relief for former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, the Jalandhar Police has written to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) saying that no case was made out of the complaint filed against Jakhar over alleged “casteist remarks” he purportedly made in reference to former CM Charanjit Singh Channi during a TV interview. A complaint was filed against Jakhar by  Jalandhar-based Vijay Kumar. The police said there was nothing on the basis of which a case could be registered as the complaint was made by a “third person” who was “not the alleged victim” and hence had “no locus standi” to register a case against Jakhar. Besides, the police investigations also revealed that portions of Jakhar’s bite to the TV channel was edited out and then re-joined, giving it an out of context connotation. Jakhar has welcomed the clean chit from the police insisting that the TV interview was projected “out of context”. He is keen to attend the Udaipur Chintan Shivir (May 13-15) where he wishes to air his views. “I am not invited but will certainly make it a point to go there,” he says. Ironically, he is not alone. Many Congressmen are likely to land up in the “city of lakes” just to thrash out a few points.

Pleasing M K Stalin is the new found mantra in Tamil Nadu for Congressmen. Having completed a remarkable journey as Chief Minister for a year Stalin, the chief executive of the state, feels like the “most wanted man” thanks to the reputation he has earned for helping out old friends and associates, bestowing favours. The one party wooing him most at the moment is the Congress, with veteran P Chidambaram bent upon getting the Rajya Sabha seat the DMK can spare in the elections slated for June. Of the six seats, DMK can win three on its own steam and, one more with alliance party votes. It appears the AIADMK’s two seats are also in heavy demand with party seniors, who are out of power in TN, seeking a ticket to keep their high-profile political careers going. Among them are D Jayakumar, C Ve Shanmugham, JCD Prabhakar, Gokula Indira and C Ponniyan. Congressmen aiming for the upper house also include TNCC President K S Alagiri and EVKS Elangovan. Former Union Finance Minister Chidambaram has gone one up on rivals, however, following his recent visit to Stalin’s home to seek the favour, something his party high command has also assented to. PC has enough clout in TN to get his way to extend his Rajya Sabha innings and prevent his political graph exhibiting a flatline.

Who will occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan when the term of the current President of India Ram Nath Kovind’s ends in July? Speculations are rife about Kovind getting a possible second term or Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu being elevated. Well-placed sources reveal that Governor of Uttar Pradesh and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel, her counterparts from West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankar and Telangana, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan (also Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry) are front runners for the top post. Names doing the rounds for Vice President’s post include, Draupadi Murmu, ex-Governor of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey, Kerala’s Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Karnataka Governor Tawarchand Gehlot. The BJP is seeking a distinct profile having a loyalist tag, to fit in with BJP’s national ambition to widen its Hindutva vote bank while being representative of societal segments of importance.  Opposition parties representing West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are failingly trying to prop up a consensus candidate. Exploiting this BJP hopes to enlist support for its candidates from Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Both are learnt to have agreed to support NDA candidates. Patnaik’s support will go public once NDA announces its candidates. Everybody knows the final decision rests with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who may spring a surprise.

Airport privatisation has turned into the new sore-point conflict between the Centre and states. After privatisation of four major airports, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru the Union government is getting ready to privatise another 25 airports operated by the Airports Authority of India including Chennai and Kozhikode, valued at around Rs 10,782 crore. Even as the short list of four Tamil Nadu airports were planned for 2022-2025, it has raised the hackles of chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states who are up in arms against the move towards privatisation. TN Chief Minister M K Stalin unequivocally said that if the Centre was bent on privatising airports, the state too must get its share of the proceeds as compensation for transferring assets to a third party. TN Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu brought out a policy note, while presenting a request to the state to acquire 65 acres of Patta land for Chennai airport. “… the value realised through privatisation or transfer of assets to a third party. Such revenue must be proportionately shared with the state government, reflecting the huge investment in land made by the state government.” Chhattisgarh minister T S Singh Deo, Jharkhand FM Rameshwar Oroan have also come out in support of Stalin’s demand and thrown a spanner in the Union Government works. Federalism is evolving quickly with such vociferous voices.

Every producer-director suffers pre-release jitters. Ajay Devgn has also caught anxiety before the release of Runway 34 in the wake of South Indian movies, dubbed in Hindi, smashing box office records and newer audiences veering towards OTT. So, he apparently courted controversy over Hindi with Kannada star Kichha Sudeep. There is little doubt he reaped good publicity too but, Devgn could not anticipate fresh controversy to emanate from another quarter. The Federation of Indian Pilots has thrown turbulence his way and stated, “The profession of airline pilots was unrealistically portrayed in the movie and may create apprehensions in the minds of nervous fliers. While we all enjoy being entertained and appreciate the artistic licence of a movie director, a thrilling tale should not be perceived as a true depiction.” Cinema buffs saw through Devgn’s story content, for stark similarities it bears to two acclaimed aviation dramas. The Captain, a 2019 film, portrayed the real-life drama of Sichuan Airline Flight 8633 which made an emergency landing at Chengdu Shuagliu International Airport after its cockpit windshield crashed. The other is the 2009 Clint Eastwood production Sully starring Tom Hanks. The flight from LaGuardia, was hit by a flock of geese forcing an emergency landing on the Hudson river with 155 lives on board. Sully was grilled by the National Aviation Safety Board while Devgn faced baritone Bachchan.

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An interesting aspect of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Chennai was that he stayed at the CRPF campus at Avadi, instead of residing at Raj Bhavan. That is because he was scheduled to next visit Puducherry. The buzz about Shah’s visit and that staying outside Raj Bhavan also allowed the Home Minister to schedule a number of appointments, including a meeting with an emissary of an influential leader of the DMK. Though there is speculation about who the leader was, it looks like everything was done so that it stayed below radar and eluded the prying eyes of the TN police. Meanwhile, Shah’s visit to Bengaluru on May 3, coinciding with suggestions by senior BJP functionary B L Santosh that only his party has “courage” to change a Government, put the Basavaraj Bommai Government in a spot. However, in an anti-climax of sorts, Amit Shah met with veteran leader B S Yediyurappa and other state leaders at Chief Minister Bommai’s residence over lunch; significantly BJP office-bearers meeting was called off. Bommai enjoys full backing of Yediyurappa. BJP sources admit changing Bommai, a Lingayat leader, would be a huge risk for the party.  Endorsing Bommai, BJP national secretary Arun Singh says “Bommai is a common man. People like him for the way he is working for the poor and farmers under PM Modi’s leadership.”

Super Kings and that brought about a stunning transformation in the body language of the team. Unlike Mumbai Indians, CSK were never out of a mathematical chance to still make the playoffs. With 8 points in the kitty, after five games, they still have potential to reach 16 points. Early season debacles were owed to very conservative bidding at the player auctions, where reps of ‘Srini Mama’ and his daughter Rupa were apparently inert and hardly picked up players of high value.  The change of captaincy, effected after the deal was signed, had offended the main sponsor TVS Eurogrip, who had shelled out Rs 100 crore. Miffed at the change in captaincy, and a lacklustre Ravindra Jadeja not looking the part to rev up the team, they pressured Srinivasan to bring back Dhoni as captain. Srini was concerned about any possible drop in valuation of the team, currently rated at around $1 billion, and impact on future sponsorships. There was only one way out of the impasse, bringing Dhoni back to the helm. CSK may or may not make it to the playoffs but they look like a competitive team now. The fans are mighty pleased and the sponsors are happy.

The face-off between Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and Chief Minister MK Stalin keeps hitting a new low every day. The latest grouse for DMK, after the snowballing on the NEET issue, is about the right to appoint University VC‘s, till recently a prerogative of the Governor. DMK’s shadow and alter ego, Dravidar Kazhagam headed by K Veeramani held a town hall meeting to publicize his state wide yatra to convey the alliance’s displeasure with the Governor that CM Stalin also attended. Veeramani shared strategies to take on the Governor. The few, who were privy to the meeting, were stunned by a suggested plan to annex Raj Bhavan, one of the largest stately gubernatorial residences in the country. Another alliance partner Sinthanai Selvan of Viduthalai Chiruthaigai Katchi told Stalin that the Raj Bhavan, housed on 160 acres of land, is under the state PWD ministry. He cited instances when former Chief Ministers J Jayalalithaa and Kalaignar had planned to relocate the Secretariat at Fort St. George to sites like Queen Marys College, Anna University. Stalin sensibly sought legal opinion on the audacious takeover plan for Raj Bhavan, and found his answer. The current economic status of TN rules out any such misadventure. Besides, and more importantly, merely changing his residence does not effectively change the Governor?

Looks like the Modi Government has decided to keep the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu in the loop, at least on Sri Lanka. With a possible PM Narendra Modi trip to Colombo and, considering DMK’s uneasy equations with the Rajapaksas, Delhi thought it better to have DMK on board. That is why, responding to the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s resolution — passed in mid-April — seeking permission to supply rice and essential medicines as aid to the troubled island nation, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar conveyed to Chief Minister M K Stalin that the state’s request to provide assistance to Colombo may supplement what is already being provided by the Government of India (GoI). Jaishankar added that Sri Lanka preferred inclusive distribution. An effusive Stalin thanked the Jaishankar and responded that the state government would consider deputing TN Chief Secretary to coordinate with GoI while supplying the relief material. Interestingly, the MEA’s approval for Tamil Nadu’s aid to Sri Lanka comes even as state BJP chief K Annamalai visited Jaffna on invitation from the Ceylon Workers Congress.  Annamalai was critical of the DMK Government for trying to politicise the aid issue without mention of the help GoI was already providing to Sri Lanka that includes, financial credit of US $3 billion, 4 lakh tonnes of fuel and 40,000 tonnes of rice.

The Congress went all out defending Rahul Gandhi’s night out in Kathmandu, even as the video of his evening at the nightclub has gone viral. While his evening at Lord of Drinks was picked from a Facebook post, the fact that Rahul had reached the Himalayan kingdom, along with three of his friends, was confirmed by a report in Kathmandu Post. He was apparently attending the wedding of his Nepali friend Sumnima Udas on May 3. Sumnima, a former CNN correspondent, was getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa. The bride’s father Bhim Udas, former Ambassador of Nepal to Myanmar, confirmed that he “had extended an invitation to Rahul Gandhi to attend the wedding of his daughter “. Latching on to the invite, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rahul had not landed in Nepal without an invitation, alluding to PM Modi’s  surprise visit to Islamabad in December 2015 to celebrate former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s birthday. “Maybe after today, PM Modi and BJP may decide it is illegal to attend a wedding. Last I checked, having a family in this country, having friends in this country, attending weddings, engagement ceremonies was a matter of our culture and civilization. It has still not become a crime in this country to marry, be friends with someone or to attend their wedding celebrations,” said Surjewala.