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Leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituent parties have expressed chagrin over the Shinde-Fadnavis government’s delay to permit its protest march planned in Mumbai on Saturday (Dec 17 ). The permission is likely to be issued later tonight or on Friday, though under certain conditionalities. MVA leaders are uneasy since hectic preparations by the Shiv Sena (Uddhav), the NCP and the Congress to ensure a large turnout are underway but there is an air of uncertainty. Presence of Communist leader Prakash Reddy and JD(U) MLC Kapil Patil, however, has heightened opposition morale. Organisers of the morcha were planning to erect a dais opposite the Times of India building on busy D N Road for MVA leaders to address the audience. However, the police have not cleared the plan. Similarly, there are still some rough edges about the route of the silent march and discussions are underway to come to an understanding. Leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly, Ajit Pawar has declared that the morcha will take place under any circumstances and he himself will join it. After a MVA meeting to discuss the modalities of the morcha at Pawar’s residence, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said every party had a right to lodge its protest in a democratic manner and no government could stop it.
Chaatrapati Shivaji Maharaja’s direct descendant Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale has now trained his guns against Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar over what he terms as political infiltration in the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha in rural Maharashtra. Sent to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP despite his defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Bhosale has been in the news at present for leading various protest actions organised to condemn the recent objectionable statements about Chhatrapati Shivaji. Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, popularly called just Rayat, is among the largest educational institutions with over 4.5 lakh students and 17000 employees. Headed by Pawar for a long time, there is no representative from the royal Bhosale family on its governing body although the family had donated land during Rayat’s initial years. Not just Bhosale, even Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leaders from Satara had criticised Rayat on this count. Pawar’s detractors had alleged that due to political influence, even the job of painting Rayat’s buildings had been awarded to a person from Baramati. Bhosale visited the agitating employees of Rayat at Satara for their various demands. Blaming the role of politicians in Rayat, Bhosale said the founder, Bhaurao Patil, had stated in writing that the president of Rayat should be the chief minister of the state. However, it is captured by politicians, leading to the sorry situation when academicians have to protest for their rights.
With the fall of December, heavy-weight Trinamool Congress (TMC) and state BJP leaders have locked horns for the 2023 Panchayat polls. Both the parties have been indulging in organising counter rallies as a show of strength and their organisational hold of the area. Recently, the state witnessed the most high voltage rallies, where TMC’s National general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP targeted each other’s fiefdoms with their choice of rally venues. While Abhishek held a rally at Contai near the residence of Adhikari, the latter chose to address a gathering at Diamond Harbour, the constituency that the TMC national general secretary represents in Lok Sabha. However, both the leaders moved the court in order to hold the rallies and later directly challenged each other at their respective public meetings. Adhikari has been quoting multiple dates saying the present Didi’s government will not last beyond December and the state will have assembly elections along with Lok Sabha election in 2024. However, BJP sources have said that quoting dates has not gone down well with the BJP high command. Besides taking on TMC’s second in command, Adhikari held a rally at Didi’s home turf at Harzra. Interestingly, Adhikari backtracked from his claim of toppling the government in December, instead giving a fresh date of January 13.
For a change, the Congress benches were happy that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla allowed their Virudhanagar MP and AICC in charge for Telangana Manickam Tagore to make a brief special mention in the House the issue of Hyderabad police raid on of the office of its key poll strategist Sunil Kanulogu and detaining of five people for allegedly posting on social media derogatory comments against Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Kanugolu, member of AICC national task force, is currently strategising for Telangana PCC. After lodging an FIR in the case, the Hyderabad Cyber Crimes police conducted the raid, seized mobile phones, laptops and other equipment used by the Kanugolu’s team. Tagore said the police barged into Kanugolu’s office on September 13 evening without an FIR and picked up an eclectic team working with the strategist on the instructions of KCR’s son and Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao. After the party got to record its opposition against Telangana in the Lok Sabha, the AICC still decided to equate KCR with PM Modi. ”When it comes to his own daughter K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor scam, KCR demands from the CBI…give me this paper, show me that notice…only then will my daughter be questioned by the agency. However, while raiding the war room of the Congress or detaining members of Sunil Kanugolu the Telangana police behaved like goondas,” charged party spokesperson Pawan Khera.
Ahead of the Maharashtra legislature’s winter session beginning in Nagpur on December 19, hectic preparations are on by various opposition parties to make a protest demonstration to be held in Mumbai on Saturday (Dec 17) successful so as to present a united face against the Shinde-Fadnavis government. In a rare gesture, the Communists and the Samajwadi Party have announced their support. So far, they have been keeping away from any faction of the Shiv Sena. Incidentally, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will be spearheading the morcha as leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Over the last two days a series of meetings were held to finalise the preparations. Controversial statements by top guns of the ruling alliance under Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis have provided fodder for the opposition cannon, which has been booming over the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute to corner the saffron alliance. The attacks will be intensified at the winter session, expected to last till the end of the year. The Saturday morcha’s route in Mumbai will pass through the congested areas like Bhendi Bazar and Fort. An application has been filed with the city police for permission though a green signal is still awaited. Nonetheless, MVA is determined to ensure an impressive turnout.
Rail &Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is not the usual polite technocrat that he seems; he could be even politically savvy given an opportunity. Much of his wit was on display during the Question Hour on December 14 when he was taking a query on network problems of BSNL from a Karnataka BJP MP. Vaishnaw explained that the BSNL went through a very bad phase, primarily because of “certain political parties, especially during the UPA Government” when a lot of its funds were diverted. With DMK benches being empty in the Lok Sabha, there was not much contest on this point though Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was present in the house. Disclosing that PM Modi has approved a package of Rs 164,000 crore for the revival of BSNL. “We should take pride in the country’s engineers. The PM gave this challenge to our engineers, in line with PM’s Make-in-India initiative, today, the 4G and 5G technologies stack are made in India, designed in India, and developed in India. Today, it is recognised all over the world. For certain people — from the other side of the House — BSNL was always a cash cow. Those days are gone.” On questions raised by Congress members on data cost, he countered them saying that under the UPA consumers had to pay Rs 200 for 1 GB, today it is around Rs 20.
The National Law University in Delhi was established in 2008 under the National Law University Act, 2007 with the objective of imparting comprehensive and inter-disciplinary legal education. Project 39 is inspired by Article 39-A of the Indian Constitution, a provision that furthers the intertwined values of equal justice and equal opportunity by removing economic and social barriers. It holds annual lectures under Project 39. The 5th Annual Project 39 lecture was supposed to be held at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) in Chennai. ACJ is part of The Hindu Group of publications. The speaker this time around is A G Perarivalan, a death row prisoner in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Fifty-year old Perarivalan, arrested in 1991, is now out of prison under an order from the Supreme Court. But the decision of ACJ to provide its space for hosting the lecture drew flak from varied quarters. Assorted questions were raised over the ACJ accommodation for this particular lecture programme of Perarivalan. In the wake of rising opposition, the organisers have decided to turn this into an online lecture. The title of the lecture is “Denial of Justice and A Quest Unfinished”. Asserting their commitment to Perarivalan to share his experience in the prison, the organisers said that they were taking the lecture online in view of the threat perception over the choice of speaker. This lecture will now go online on December 17.
A DMK minister was heard saying that the initiation of Udhayanidhi Stalin into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet was late by a year and a half. He should have been there from the start in May 2021 so the line of succession would have been clear already. Others say that the family is safeguarding its interests by bringing in a successor who will carry forward the Karunanidhi tradition. The most interesting aspect of his inclusion in the Cabinet now is that the date of swearing-in was chosen by his mother Durga who wished to avoid Margazhi, considered inauspicious for various occasions like marriages and events. And hence the hurry to induct him before the Tamil month of Margazhi, famous for Chennai’s music festivals, begins on December 15. CM Stalin may not be willing to accommodate any religious feelings as he goes about his duties as the party’s credo is not faith in God. But he can hardly argue against the wishes of his religious wife Durga whose temple visits are well-recorded. The first lady’s influence can be seen in the tolerance for faith and religion that the DMK shows now even in its official dealings with different religious heads, temples and places of worship. Stalin had studiously maintained that he is not against people following their faith and belief in God.
In a coordinated manner both Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah cornered the Opposition that was trying to politicize Chinese Army aggression in Tawang on December 9 which was ably rebuffed by the Indian Army. While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed both the Houses of the Parliament that there was “no death, no major injuries to our soldiers” on India-China LAC clash and urged the Parliament to support “the valour and courage of our army with one voice”, the Opposition leaders preferred to stage a walkout as they weren’t allowed to discuss the clashes. Home Minister Amit Shah launched a broadside at the Congress MPs outside the Parliament for trying to disrupt Question Hour in the Lok Sabha by raising the issue of Tawang clashes only to avoid questions on the money received by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) from China and controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s organisation. The Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha had demanded to suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour. Shah said that the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of RGF was cancelled by the Home Ministry as the foundation accepted a grant of over Rs 1 crore from the Chinese Embassy and Rs 50 lakh from Naik.”I saw the question hour list and after seeing question number 5, I understood the anxiety of Congress.” The question was regarding the cancellation of the FCRA licence of the RGF.
Much of the BJP losing Himachal Pradesh is being viewed through the prism of the party doing badly in I&B Minister Anurag Thakur’s Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency where the Congress won 12 of the 17 assembly seats; the BJP had 44 seats in the outgoing assembly. The BJP lost all the five seats in Hamirpur district and it is significant that the Congress picked Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu who is an MLA from Nadaun that falls in Hamirpur region. Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri is Haroli MLA from Una district that is also part of Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat. What does this mean for the BJP? Will a Congress win in 2022 make it difficult for Thakur to get re-elected from Hamirpur in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls? Himachal Congress leaders themselves admit that Thakur would face no threat for the Lok Sabha seat in spite of a strong Congress performance. “That is because assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections would be fought on different issues. Besides, remember an assembly seat like Sujanpur in Hamirpur was secured more by postal ballots than the EVM,” pointed out a Congress leader. Congress sources admit that though Thakur had campaigned aggressively, it was his father PK Dhumal’s laid back strategy that benefited Congress — yes they admit to have gained from the J P Nadda-Dhumal rift.
The Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has received a breather since the Election Commission has postponed a hearing till January over the claims for ownership of the Shiv Sena election symbol, bow & arrow. The first hearing today was over within a few minutes since EC officials explained to both sides the procedure they will follow to ascertain the claim made by the Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray and the one under chief minister Eknath Shinde. Sena (Uddhav) MP Anil Desai told the media that the EC will take a call on whether to proceed on the material submitted to it so far or to ask for any supplementary information. The next hearing is likely to be held in the first week of January 2023. The EC’s decision to defer the hearing will enable the Shinde-Fadnavis government to face the ensuing winter session of the legislature more confidently. The session will be held in Nagpur later this month. Its schedule and other details will be decided at a meeting of the business advisory committee (BAC) to be held in Mumbai on December 13. The government is in an upbeat mood since Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Shinde near him in Nagpur and patted him on the back. The television clip has gone viral. To bolster its confidence, the EC’s decision will be helpful, the ruling coalition feels.
Embattled Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s letter to Union home minister Amit Shah pleading his case has given rise to a fresh bout of political fracas. Already, protests like bandh have been held in many parts of the state. Koshyari’s letter dated December 6 has gone viral on December 12, prompting NCP MP Amol Kolhe to raise suspicions about the timing of the placatory communication. Already, Koshyari’s controversial statement is disowned by the BJP and incited some parties to organise protest actions, which continue even now. Koshyari had described Chhatrapati Shivaji as an icon of the past in a speech. Clarifying his position in the letter to Shah, the governor has stated, “I can’t imagine even in my dreams to insult any icon of the past. However, mentioning achievers of the present time does not mean disrespect towards the legends that existed here.” In a sly taunt directed at Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, the governor has pointed out that despite his advancing age, he has walked to visit historical forts like Raigad, Sinhgad, Shivneri and Pratapgad, identified with memories of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The taunt refers to Uddhav’s staying at home during the Covid outbreak and even later, rarely visiting Mantralaya. However, Kolhe has questioned the timing of the letter becoming public and asked, “If there is no intention to dishonor any giants of the past, why are statements derogatory to them made repeatedly?”
Three months of being on Bharat Jodo Yatra seems to have made Rahul Gandhi somewhat a much wiser man. He is at least very nice and polite with senior leaders and has surprised them with his inter-personal skills. He probably learnt it all while doing the balancing act between D K Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah in Karnataka. Like he recently surprised a party veteran in Himachal Viplove Thakur when he warmly greeted her with a hug and even complimented her for “looking much younger” when he met her in Shimla. Such kind words from the Gandhi scion naturally cheered the former Rajya Sabha MP when she reached the podium for the swearing in of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as chief minister. Only person to reach the swearing-in late was a sulking PCC chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh and the Gandhis took it in their stride. Whatever the objectives of the yatra, Rahul now seems more open to people and the yatra has certainly helped him reach out to more leaders within his party than his office would have ever allowed. Himachal Congress leaders were also happy that Rahul took a break from his yatra to savour the success of his sister Priyanka in retrieving the hill state from the BJP. In turn, Priyanka has joined her brother’s yatra with an all women team in Rajasthan on Day 95.
All is not well in the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP. State President K Annamalai is constantly in Operation Damage control mode fighting the ruling DMK dispensation or forces within the party. The latest one relates to the sensational call made by the party’s high profile leader heading OBC wing Tiruchi Surya to Dr Daisy Saran (minority wing secretary). In the now infamous audio clip which has gone viral, Surya used vile and filthy language, threats to humiliate Dr Daisy. He threatened to cut up her genitals and fling her into the sea. Gayatri Raghuram, an actor and BJP functionary, forwarded the clip to the party’s higher ups like the All India Women’s Wing chief Vanathi Srinivasan and Union minister L Murugan. This move backfired. Gayatri was suspended from the party for six months for her anti-party activities and Dr Daisy was read the riot act. Everybody is asking why is Annamalai soft on Tiruchi Surya? Tiruchi Surya, son of DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, has been prodded to resign from the BJP on his own. In his resignation letter Surya states “Annamalai is my elder brother, a treasure trove of the party. I have learnt all strategic nuances under his stewardship …” For good measure he also added that Annamalai is future PM material. With this kind of letter has he figuratively thrown Annamalai in the lion’s den?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday visit to Nagpur is eagerly awaited as he is expected to becalm the tension between Maharashtra and Karnataka over their six-decade-old border dispute. As if impervious to the problems suffered by people from both sides, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has again tweeted that the matter is with the Supreme Court. “A meeting between Amit Shah and some Maharashtra MPs would not make any difference,” he has taunted. This stand has been condemned by opposition parties in Maharashtra. Maharashtra being the second largest state after Uttar Pradesh electorally, it occupies a crucial place for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the BJP. Despite this, Bommai has been adding fuel to the fire by his various statements. Hence, BJP leaders in Maharashtra are caught in a delicate situation. Chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have already appealed to the PM to intervene. Union home minister Amit Shah’s initiative to invite both chief ministers next week for talks to find a solution will take a specific direction after Modi’s Nagpur visit tomorrow to inaugurate the ambitious Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway’s first leg and other projects. But Bommai’s latest outburst has again created uncertainty. Modi is expected to advise both sides to exercise restraint till a solution satisfactory to will is formulated.
The Narendra Modi Government is believed to be going ahead with its move for a ‘one nation, one election’ plan. Though the plan has not found favour with the main opposition parties. The next Lok Sabha elections is expected to be simultaneously held along with 12 assembly elections. To accommodate this, the Election Commission will have to tweak the dates and even consider advancing the next Lok Sabha elections by a couple of months. The tentative period being considered is believed to be December-January 2023-24, according to informed sources. While the next Lok Sabha elections are due in April-May 2024, the assembly terms of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will end by December 2023 and Mizoram by mid December 2023. The other states being roped in for the mega election plan are three non-NDA ruled states with BJP affinity — Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. The term of these assemblies are scheduled to end by June 2024. And also in the mega election plan are two BJP ruled states, Haryana and Maharashtra, where the elections are due in November 2024. If mega election plan fructifies it will bring down the cost of holding elections across India. The cost of the last Lok Sabha elections was around $ 7 bn (approx. Rs 56,000 crore, up 40% from the previous election. The US spend for its Presidential and Congress elections is around $ 6.5 bn.
It is now more or less clear that display of street-power by those supporting Himachal PCC chief Pratibha Singh could just come a cropper. Efforts by her supporters to gherao vehicles of Congress observer Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel or Pratibha Singh’s own claim that she has support of 25 MLAs cannot swing the opinion of the Congress high command. In fact party old timers say Pratibha’s supporters seem to be following everything from her late husband Virbhadra Singh’s playbook. “Pratibha Singh had won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in a by-election in 2021. In the assembly elections, of the 17 seats under Mandi Lok Sabha the Congress managed to win only 6 seats, 11 went to the BJP,” pointed out a party veteran. Besides, the favourite of high command seems to be Sukhwinder Singh Sukku. A former Youth Congress president, he claims support of 19 MLAs. He is also close to Rahul Gandhi’s aide, K C Venugopal. Beyond Sukku, Pratibha and CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri, the Congress may go for a fresh alternative — an OBC face from Kangra — Jawali MLA Chander Kumar. That is because in this election the Congress won 10 of the 15 seats in Kangra. “Whoever wins Kangra wins Himachal. Last time, the BJP had won 11 of the 15 seats. It is only right that someone from Kangra becomes CM,” said an ex-party MP. Pratibha may also back Chander to block Sukku.
Maharashtra, too, is examining the possibility of implementing a law on the lines of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, also known as the ‘Love Jihad’ law. The UP law provides various penalties for a convict, either an individual or an organisation. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the media that the legislations adopted by various states to prevent forcible conversions under the guise of marriage are being studied at the moment. He was asked if the Maharashtra legislation could come up during the ensuing winter session of the legislature in Nagpur later this month. Fadnavis clarified that as of now, no decision has been taken. Against the backdrop of reports that Love Jihad cases were on the increase in the state, the demand for such a law in Maharashtra has intensified after the gruesome murder of Vasai girl Shraddha Walkar. Her father Vikas who met Fadnavis told the media that he was assured by Fadnavis that no effort would be spared to punish the guilty of the girl’s death. Vikas expressed displeasure with the manner in which local police had handled the matter. He said his daughter would have been alive if the police had acted with alacrity. Vikas demanded investigation of suspect Aaftab Poonawala’s parents as well.
After the rout of the Congress in Gujarat and MCD elections in Delhi, emphatic return of the party to power in Himachal Pradesh is the best news that could have happened to it. For some reason credit for the Congress victory is being given to none other than Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — who is not even AICC General Secretary responsible for the state. It is only that she has her residence in Chharabra. Interestingly a party leader close to her, Acharya Pramod Krishnam was the first to go public crediting the Himachal victory to Priyanka on live TV. ff support data apkIt was obviously a fan girl moment for him. He felt this was the first good news, the first success since Priyanka made a formal entry into politics in 2019 as AICC General Secretary for UP. Party sources conceded that Priyanka had been working closely with Rajiv Shukla, tải ff support dataAICC functionary handling the state. minecraft lmhmodOf course, she did not address many meetings; just addressed four rallies. But then Congressmen like Krishnam feel Priyanka’s camping in Himachal for nearly a month helped. “Everyone felt Priyankaji was closely monitoring everything.” It is also felt the Himachal results could burnish her CV as political leader after the poor show in UP in 2022. Meanwhile, the party has a tricky issue on hand of finding the next Congress CM. While PCC chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh could be the front runner,programlarindir MLAs could root for one amongst them — either Sukhwinder Singh Sukku or Mukesh Agnihotri.
Gujarat, home to both PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, gave a historic mandate to the BJP as it voted the party for a seventh straight term handing the ruling party a record haul of 156 assembly seats while the Congress was reduced to a humble 16 seats. Endorsing Modi’s call to vote in his CM nominee Bhupendra Patel, Gujaratis clearly showed that they took a lot of pride in him and helped him break Congress stalwart Madhavsinh Solanki’s 1985 record of 149 seats. TaiwindowsUnlike people of Punjab or Delhi, the state steered clear of AAP’s freebies; maybe people were too self-respecting and did not fall for AAP’s promise of doles. Kejriwal had picked a popular TV anchor Ishan Gadhvi as his CM face but he was voted out. However, lmhmod minecraftKejriwal seems to have got what he wanted out of Gujarat polls, a national party status that he desperately craved. AAP had to win two assembly seats and poll 6% votes for this. The state rewarded him — 5 seats and 12.9% votes. The Congress low-profile, door-to-door campaign without involving Gandhis did not work. In 2017, Rahul Gandhi had taken a lot of interest in the Gujarat polls. allwindows4u This time he opted to canvas just for a day. No wonder, the Congress seats plunged from 77 to 17. New government will be sworn in on December 12.
Unease pervades in the opposition camp in Maharashtra because joint efforts by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) MPs to raise the border dispute with Karnataka with the Centre did not succeed. A meeting between the MPs and Union home minister Amit Shah was scheduled on December 8 but did not happen. Is it the Centre’s silent refusal to intercede in the feud, many opposition activists have started asking. Shah did not turn up at his parliament office for the meeting. Hence, a memorandum was left for him to highlight Maharashtra’s point of view by the delegation led by Supriya Sule. The MPs belonging to Shiv Sena (Uddhav), Congress and NCP had sought the meeting to protest against Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s various statements about the dispute, which has come back on the anvil after a long time. The MPs have complained in their written submission that the situation has deteriorated due to Bommai’s provocations, leading to attacks by Kannada Vedike workers on state transport buses from Maharashtra. An effort by Sule to raise the issue in Lok Sabha on December 7 was unsuccessful since speaker Om Birla said it was a dispute between two states and the Centre could do little about it. No fresh appointment has been decided with Shah so far, the MPs have clarified.
DMK Youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin may be getting his long awaited ministerial berth in the Cabinet headed by his father Chief Minister M K Stalin. The induction may take place as early as December 14 as a CM secretariat official was said to have gone to the Raj Bhavan to get time on that date from the Governor for the swearing-in. Stalin’s son was slated to join the ministry even as the DMK was forming the government in 2021 but the ‘rising son’ may have preferred to complete all his film engagements before taking a Cabinet post. He may get only the minor portfolio of the CM Cell that takes care of petitions from the public, but it is a giant step for the family as it must be seen as establishing a line of succession. Stalin’s wife Durga had always been keen that her son should be a Minister rather than just a youth leader. She knew very well that her father-in-law had delayed his son’s succession so long that the party may have lost the 2016 Assembly elections only because M Karunanidhi was clinging on in the hope of becoming the CM again. It was rumoured that Mrs Stalin was very hurt at her husband losing the chance to become CM, which became reality at least five years late in her reckoning.
In the fiercely contested elections to Municipal Corporation of Delhi which saw the Aam Aadmi Party edge out the BJP after 15 years of presiding over the civic body by winning 134 out of 250 municipal wards, AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal came across as a humble man. Maybe the results had a sobering effect on him — for a party that had vowed to restrict BJP to 20 wards, AAP fared poorly in Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and his jailed minister Satyender Jain’s assembly segments. The BJP went on to secure 104 wards. “We need cooperation from all, especially the help and blessings of the Centre and PM to improve Delhi,” he said. For a start, these words may have been enough to soften bruised ego but the BJP is unlikely to fall for it. In fact it doesn’t view the civic poll results as a setback. “We wanted an honourable exit from the MCD. That is what we have got”, conceded a top BJP poll strategist. In fact the idea of getting high profile campaigners for street corner meetings was to ensure that the party has an adequate presence in the MCD. “If our senior leaders hadn’t made this effort, AAP could have restricted us to 50-60 wards. At least we managed to reach three-digit”, pointed out a leader.
There is a growing feeling in Maharashtra that the border dispute has been instigated purposely to facilitate BJP’s victory in the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections, to be fought under the chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. Karnataka CM raked up the contentious feud all of a sudden some days ago, taking opposition leaders in Maharashtra by surprise since they were busy attacking governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji. Just then, demands by people in several villages along the border to be included in Karnataka added to the overall concern. To add to the tension, violent outbursts by pro-Kannada elements forced their hand. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray articulated this doubt while warning that Bommai must not complicate the situation further. “It is clear who is fuelling the dispute from across the border with an eye on the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections,” he has stated in a written communication. Violence against the Marathi-speaking population must stop, he has warned. While Raj has worded his missive cautiously, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah is behind the imbroglio. The opposition’s theory is that Bommai has failed on all fronts and hence is in search of a sentimental issue to whip up pro-Kannada sentiments. Moreover, he is worried because of the huge response to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka.
There is a clear three-way divide in the West Bengal entertainment industry. While a section of the stars continue with their allegiance with the CPI (M), a majority of actors (TV and cinema) are with Trinamool Congress and some are with BJP. Significantly, the allegiance factor has hit the stars in the opposition camp real hard as no work comes their way. The change started when the West Bengal’s entertainment industry sided with the then Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee’s movement against Singur Land Acquisition and Nandigram massacre. The successful agitation saw Didi’s TMC dethroning the Left Front government and effectively, the entertainment industry changed its colour to green from red. With the entry of BJP into the state, some prominent stars embraced saffron and joined the BJP as allegations of corruption and “cut-money” plagued Didi’s party. But they had to pay a price. Noted actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Rudranil Ghosh, Rupa Ganguly, and Locket Chatterjee have been openly saying that the attitude of their industry colleagues have changed ever since they joined BJP. Rudranil claims he has been out of work for the last 18 months, while Mithun says he has been getting negative vibes. The heartthrob of Bengali films and TMC MP Dev however said, politics should never come in the way of personal ties and professional work. Dev’s latest film ‘Projapoti’ features Mithun.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has emphatically reiterated that the proposed green refinery will materialise in Barsu-Solgaon belt of the Konkan region of the state. Castigating the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime for delaying the massive project for political considerations, Fadnavis said the project will generate one lakh direct and five lakh indirect employment opportunities. The latest technology will ensure that there will not be any harmful emissions due to the refining process, so no pollution. Lamenting the disinformation spread about the project, he said Konkan people were misguided by telling them that the unique Alphonso mango would not survive because of the refinery. In fact, even after the Jamnagar refinery had been operating for years, the quality mango produced there was exported like the one from Konkan, he pointed out. Fadnavis alleged that the various schemes he had launched as chief minister for Konkan had been discontinued by the MVA government. All such and many more developmental activities would be started now, he said, reminding the audience at the Konkan Festival inauguration that he was making this promise as finance minister of the state. Taunting Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in his speech, Fadnavis wondered how the electorate which had supported the Sena had been deprived of development by the leadership which had benefited due to this backing.
With elections behind them PM Narendra Modi and his team of ministers were back to some serious work. While he was himself briefing aspects relating to India’s G20 Presidency at the all-party meeting. Briefing the leaders, Modi stated that India’s G20 Presidency belongs to the entire nation, and is a unique opportunity to showcase country’s strengths to the world. Emphasisng on teamwork, he sought the cooperation of all leaders in organising various G20 events. He pointed out that the G20 Presidency would help showcase parts of India beyond the conventional big metros, thus bringing out the uniqueness of each part of our nation. Highlighting the large number of visitors, Modi took note of the potential for promoting tourism and boosting the local economies of the venues where G20 meetings would be organized. Before Modi spoke, various political leaders shared their insights and these included former PM H D Deve Gowda, BJP president J P Nadda, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Rashtriya LokJanshkti Party leader Pashupatinath Paras, Mahasrashtra CM Eknath Shinde and IUML leader K M Kader Mohideen. The best part, of course, was that the MEA got to issue a release about the PM’s all-party meeting.
Although two Maharashtra ministers have ‘postponed’ their Belagavi visit on Tuesday following Karnataka chief minister S R Bommai’s public statements, his fresh reiteration that the dispute was no longer alive for his state has generated anger in the state. Moreover, Bommai’s warning that consequences would have to be faced if any attempt is made to enter Belagavi in connection with the dispute has incited opposition parties in Maharashtra again. Expressing his displeasure at Bommai’s outburst, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has chided him by saying that as the matter is before the Supreme Court, neither Maharashtra nor Karnataka can do anything in this regard. Ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraje Desai were scheduled to visit Belagavi on 6 December but have dropped it. Despite this, Bommai has continued his combative stand. He has once again said that the request of Jath villagers from Sangli district of Maharashtra for inclusion in Karnataka would remain under his consideration. In a bid to blunt Karnataka’s initiatives, Maharashtra industry minister Uday Samant visited Jath area to reassure villagers that no effort would be spared to end their grievances. Samant said an industrial estate would be developed at Jath so that employment opportunities are generated there. A decision in this regard would be announced in a week, he promised the angry residents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting heads of various political parties at the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Cultural Centre to brief them about the significance of India’s G-20 presidency. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin are attending the meeting convened by the PM to rally domestic political support for events linked to G-20 through next year. Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao is skipping the event. At the meet, Modi will underline the significance of the G-20 presidency for the country, and brief leaders on how his government is approaching the “unique opportunity”. The leaders will get a glimpse of year-long activities that are being planned to showcase New Delhi’s soft power. Significantly, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be attending the meeting even as his party’s media-in charge Jairam Ramesh mocked PM Modi as an “event manager” and tried to point out that India’s presidency was rotational and wasn’t extraordinary. The CMs are taking interest in the PM’s G-20 tete-e tete because from the time India will be holding the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023 and during this period about 200 meetings on 32 sectors at multiple locations will be held. Already, India hosted the first meeting for G-20 sherpas in Udaipur on December 4 and set the stage for important conversations including technological transformation, and spotlighting women-led development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Nagpur tour programme has been revised as he is now scheduled to inaugurate the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) centre at the MIHAN complex in the second capital of Maharashtra. His scheduled inauguration of the first phase of the ambitious Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will now take place from the same venue. Modi will also mark the beginning of the redevelopment of Nagpur and Ajni railway stations during the visit. It is also hinted that he will announce a Vande Bharat Express between Nagpur and Bilaspur. Modi will also inaugurate the two phases of Nagpur metro as decided earlier. The expressway, a dream project of then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, was to be ready much earlier but was delayed for various reasons, some of them political. The next phase, Shirdi-Mumbai, is expected to be commissioned early next year, cutting the travel time between Maharashtra’s capital and second capital to just eight hours. Modi will land at Nagpur at 11 am on December 11 and proceed to visit the expressway. He will then reach the MIHAN complex to declare the AIIMS centre opened. To ensure that all goes smoothly during the PM’s visit, Fadnavis and chief minister Eknath Shinde travelled the entire 520 km distance in about five hours with DCM at the wheel on Sunday.
Karnataka chief minister S R Bommai’s missive to Maharashtra not to send its two ministers to Belgaum for holding talks with Marathi-speaking agitation’s leadership has aggravated the situation as both ministers are firm on their visit. Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraje Desai are scheduled to visit Belgaum on December 6 to meet leaders of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), which has been spearheading the agitation for merging Karnataka’s Marathi-speaking areas in Maharashtra over the past six decades. The two ministers will meet MES activists to understand their woes over the linguistic dispute. Ahead of the visit, Karnataka chief secretary has written to his Maharashtra counterpart at the instance of Bommai not to send Patil and Desai to Belgaum in view of the prevailing atmosphere. Patil, former state BJP president, said it has been Maharashtra’s consistent stand that the Centre should intercede to resolve the border dispute with Karnataka. Also, as the matter is in the Supreme Court, that factor also should be considered. In view of this, Karnataka should not try to prevent the visit. A meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah could happen after Gujarat elections, Desai indicated while reiterating his resolve to reach Belgaum on December 6.
Looks like Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will most likely continue as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha at least for the forthcoming Winter Session of Parliament as the party hasn’t yet decided on his replacement. If Kharge holds two posts, it will be a complete reversal of the “One Person, One Post” policy that was formulated in the Udaipur Declaration. In fact Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, who was hoping to keep his CM post, lost out on being Congress chief because of Rahul Gandhi’s insistence that he must adhere to one man-one post resolution. Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) “strategy group” on December 3, ahead of the Parliament Session that begins on December 7. Rajya Sabha MPs Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Kharge have been asked to attend. In keeping with the Udaipur Declaration, Kharge had resigned as LoP in Rajya Sabha before filing his nomination papers for Congress chief. But then he handed in his resignation to Sonia Gandhi as CPP chairperson. Which is why there is a lot of speculation that Sonia may ask Kharge to continue in the post. On his part even after getting elected as Congress president, Kharge has taken care not to disturb the Gandhis. Like he did not make his photos visible at AICC headquarters. His focus is to win back Karnataka when elections are held early next year.
A day after India assumed the leadership of the G-20, trust the Congress to say the presidency was rotational and inevitable, and dubbed PM Narendra Modi as an event manager. It went on to point out that none of the countries that held the responsibility earlier had staged a “high voltage drama” as was being done now. India assumed the presidency of the G-20 on December 1 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a strong pitch for “fundamental mindset shift” to benefit humanity as a whole, saying the country will work to further promote “oneness”. Several centrally-protected monuments including UNESCO world heritage sites spread across the country were lit up with the G-20 logo to mark the start of India’s year-long presidency of the grouping. Attacking the government, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh via Twitter went on to point out that “Previous presidents of G20 have been from the USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, France, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Indonesia. None of these countries staged a high voltage drama as is being done around India becoming President of G20 for a year.” Adding further he said, “I’m reminded of what LK Advani said in 2014 in Gandhinagar—he called Modi a brilliant event manager. That’s all there is to all the spin around G20.” India’s G-20 sherpa Amitabh Kant dismissed the Congress attack as “bizarre”.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s disclosure that gold blocks have been detected in Vidarbha region is expected to attract many private sector players to the state’s mining sector. The expectation is heightened since, within hours, news began flashing that gold blocks could be existing in Konkan region’s Sindhudurg district as well. Thus, two extreme geographical locations in the state will open new avenues of development, it is felt. While addressing an investor conference in Mumbai, Shinde said that out of a dozen coal fields in Maharashtra available to the private sector through auctions, two can have deposits of gold and platinum group minerals. Shinde welcomed the news of the possible findings as a good omen for his government. He said he had appealed to the Centre for further studies and cooperation in developing the blocks. Chandrapur, a tribal district sharing borders with Telangana, is perhaps the lucky beneficiary since its Minzari and Bamni areas are likely to be the home to potential gold mines. Moreover, the belt is endowed with rich reserves of copper, according to preliminary reports of the Union Ministry of Mining. The existence of precious metals in Sindhudurg district, sharing borders with Goa, has been discussed for decades. However, a positive signal from the Centre is still awaited.
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s indication that the next Maharashtra chief minister could be a woman has created ripples as various names are circulating as a possible incumbent. At the same time, he is facing flak with charges that he is trying to promote his wife Rashmi. Uddhav said at a function in Mumbai on November 30 that the joint efforts by three dominant forces in Maharashtra polity – Shiv Shakti (meaning Sena), Bheem Shakti (Dalit factions) and Lahu Shakti – would aim at installing a competent chief minister, man or woman. This statement is interpreted variously to either support Uddhav or criticize him. The function was organized to commemorate the armed struggle launched by freedom fighter Ustad Lahuji Salve against British over a century ago. The names of NCP MP Supriya Sule, former minister Pankaja Munde and Uddhav’s wife Rashmi Thackeray immediately began circulating. Although no prominent leader has so far reacted to this idea, independent MP Navnit Rana has alleged that Uddhav is trying to promote the prospects of his wife. “What he says and what he does are two different things,” Rana quipped. While Sule has been in parliament since 2006, Pankaja shot to prominence after 2014 when she publicly said she was an aspirant for the CM’s post. Critics say that Rashmi can enter the arena just like dark horse Uddhav grabbed the post in 2019.
As the campaign for December 4 elections to Municipal Corporation of Delhi peaked, frustration of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal became all too obvious. Not only was he forced to abandon his last-ditch campaign in Gujarat but he found in Delhi too the BJP has made a remarkable recovery on ground. Ideally, it should have been an AAP advantage as the BJP has been in power in the civic body for the past 15 years. However, the BJP recovered much of its lost ground by deploying its leaders and karyakartas in community specific areas. “We sent out leaders such as CM Pushkar Dhami and MP Ravi Kishen for a campaign to reach out to specific communities,” said a party source. BJP also reached out to Kejriwal’s vote bank of slum dwellers by showcasing houses built under PM’s housing scheme for urban poor in Kalkaji. Clearly upset with the BJP’s election strategy, a dejected Kejriwal lamented how the BJP had brought in CMs from other states and 17 Union ministers for the campaign. “There would have been no need to bring so many high-profile leaders if the MCD had done any work in the previous 15 years,”, Kejriwal lashed out at a public meeting. He blamed the BJP-led MCD for clogging the city’s sewers and for failing to resolve the problem of the overexploited landfills. Even as his government was caught in a liquor scam, he promised to make MCD corruption free within four months.
When Odisha’s high profile film producer Akshay Parija played the victim card in the sensational honey trap scandal, filing a police complaint for extortion, he possibly had no idea how his action would implicate BJD and embarrass Naveen Patnaik’s government. Odisha Assembly is now rocking with BJP and Congress questioning BJD’s hand in this sex scandal racket. BJP says Patnaik’s government is trying to protect the culprits as a cover up since his own party members were involved. Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra is now demanding Naveen babu’s resignation on the controversial honey-trap issue implicating senior BJD members in the sex racket. Clearly, BJD is in a tight spot because ED is now looking into the money laundering aspect of blackmailing by Archana Nag and her husband Jagabandhu Chand which has the possibility to expose influential BJD politicians of their intimate moments. Naveen’s stoic silence on controversial issues involving BJD politicians is sending a signal that Naveen is too embarrassed to admit follies. The opposition is also saying that ED’s powerful noose on BJD’s misdeeds is already evident, wherein, the Commissionerate Of Police had let off suspects but ED reversed CoP’s earlier decision and arrested the suspects. Again, BJD’s Dhenkanal MLA Sudhir Samal’s brother Gangadhar, who owns a car showroom, deposed before the ED recently. He was grilled for suspicious financial transactions worth around Rs 35 lakh with accused Archana. As of now Patnaik’s BJD is on the backfoot.
Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari appears isolated due to a reference he made about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja as state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has made it clear that his party is not on the same page with the Uttarakhand leader on this issue. At the same time, Maharashtra tourism minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha invited a fresh controversy. His reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji’s escape from Aurangzeb’s Agra custody while describing CM Eknath Shinde’s exit from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) was the trigger. Sena leader Sanjay Raut and others complained that this was an attempt to compare Chhatrapati’s brave action for Swarajya with Shinde’s political move. Bawankule was addressing the media after Chhatrapati’s descendant, Udayan Raje Bhosale, had boycotted a function to commemorate Chhatrapati Shivaji’s valour. Udayan Raje said he was offended by the governor’s remarks and upset that Koshyari was not removed by the Centre. CM Shinde’s request to attend was ignored by Udayan Raje. Shinde’s efforts to end the imbroglio by saying that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was revered by everybody and comparison with him in any way was unthinkable did not make any dent. The Sena has intensified its broadside against the ruling alliance over Koshyari’s statement and taunted Shinde that he has no right to occupy office as the governor continues in the post.
No one familiar with Telangana politics is surprised by the high political drama that erupted in Hyderabad on November 29; the police dragging away the SUV of YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) President YS Sharmila with the help of a crane, even as she sat inside it to protest against Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao. Sharmila, who is the sister of Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was later arrested by the Hyderabad Police as she proceeded to gherao along with her followers Pragathi Bhavan, the CM’s office. Action against Sharmila is being seen more as a coordinated act between KCR and her brother Jagan. Both the Telugu-speaking CMs have always supported each other. They have a common bond which is forged by their spiritual seer based in Visakhapatnam — Swamy Swaroopanandendra Saraswati. It is felt KCR is deliberately making it difficult for Sharmila as she has taken an adversarial position against her brother. BJP sources, however, feel Sharmila’s side show may have been propped up by KCR just to “subvert the political narrative” which is favouring the BJP. By arresting her, Sharmila is being made to be someone who can divide the Opposition in the state and subvert BJP’s narrative. After all, Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay is on a padyatra and KCR is playing the politics of distraction to hijack focus on the BJP.
Even as the old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka is assuming serious tones, the issue of 14 disputed villages between the state and Telangana has been revived by activists to highlight what they call a ‘forcible action’ by the erstwhile part of Andhra Pradesh. As if two border disputes are not enough, residents of some villages along the border in Gadchiroli district, too, are expressing their dissatisfaction with the government over similar demands. Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leaders have been repeatedly blaming Karnataka CM S R Bommai for ‘stoking fires’ by his various statements to demand inclusion of various parts of Maharashtra in his state. The Sena votaries are talking of starting an agitation over the issue. About the dispute with Telangana, former MLA Wamanrao Chatap (Shetkari Sanghatana) has articulated the ‘plight’ of the 14 villages along the border by alleging that the villagers’ declaration that they wish to remain in Maharashtra has been ignored by Telangana authorities. As Telangana has refused to implement a SC order in favour of Maharashtra, various facilities like gram panchayats, dispensaries and anganwadis of both states continue to function in the villages, he has alleged. Incidentally, villagers appear in voter lists of both states. Villagers also lament that the Maharashtra government has not taken cognisance of their genuine grievance. Indications are available that Maharashtra will find itself in a pincer dilemma unless the disputes are resolved soon.
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has sought pardon for his objectionable statement in regard to women’s attire by clarifying before the Maharashtra Commission for Women that it was not his intent to insult womanhood. Ramdev has been facing a barrage of criticism for saying that “women look nice wearing a sari or salwar suit; in my view, they look lovely even if not wearing anything.” The offensive remark was condemned all over and Amruta, wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, also faced trolling due to her presence on the dais with Ramdev. Seeking pardon, Ramdev has conveyed to the Commission that what he meant was that women looked beautiful even in simple clothes. “I have not violated any provisions of the Commission’s guidelines,” he said. According to Ramdev, he had always been active for women’s empowerment. In his defence, Amruta told a daily that Ramdev wanted to support women’s emancipation but could not articulate those views in proper terms. He could have used different words and expressed them in a decent manner, she felt. After Ramdev’s remarks made at Thane went viral, a notice was served on him by the Commission, which warned him that it had taken a serious note of his remarks and directed him to file a reply. After his response, Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar has tweeted Ramdev’s letter of apology.
At the Constitution Day valedictory function on November 26 evening, while reading out her prepared English speech, President Droupadi Murmu digressed a bit to speak extempore in Hindi. From her expressions it was evident these words came from her heart. She got a standing ovation which no judge or lawyer got in the two sessions at SC additional building complex auditorium. She spoke about doing something for undertrials in our prisons. What President Murmu said, could best be summed up in these words, “You judges and lawyers are knowledgeable and experienced. You should do something for the people languishing in jail. Neither do most of them know about their fundamental rights, nor their fundamental duties. People who may have just slapped a person during a fight sometimes languish in jail for many years without any legal help. But people who take other’s lives sometimes roam free….people say more jails are to be built as there is overcrowding in jails.. You say we are progressing (“vikas? kaisa vikas”) …then what is the need for more jails? Bringing down crime rate is also part of vikas…it is just my thought…saying this much I am leaving it you…give a thought on what all I said. When I was an MLA, I had the opportunity to visit jails. I wanted to know how the prisoners lived there… especially undertrials. I tried to make changes, but I couldn’t do much”.
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has done it again. He has stirred a hornet’s nest due to his objectionable remarks about women at a function in Thane, outside Mumbai at a yoga event. Several opposition leaders and prominent women have condemned his remarks. In his speech, Ramdev had said, “Women look nice wearing a sari or salwar suit. In my view, they look lovely even if they are not wearing anything.” The women present for the event had come with yoga dresses. As part of the event, a gathering for them was arranged. Many had brought saris for it. But hardly any time was left for the change since a yoga camp was held in the morning and was followed by a yoga training session. Within moments, the gathering began. Hence, the women did not have time to drape saree. Commenting on this, Ramdev passed the offensive remarks. Eyebrows were raised when Ramdev showered praise on chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. On an earlier occasion, he had described Shinde as a glory of Sanatan Dharma and a true disciple of Shiv Sena icon Balasaheb Thackeray. About Fadnavis, the yoga campaigner said that he is a great personality. Shinde and Fadnavis together have created history, and will be doing so in the future, too.
Over two lakh invitation cards have been distributed for the Sunday wedding of NCP leader Jayant Patil’s son Prateek with industrialist Rahul Kirloskar’s daughter Alika at his home base Islampur in Sangli district. VVIPs like chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, opposition leader Ajit Pawar and others have been sent special invites. The venue will be a pandal spread over thousands of square feet. All access roads have been resurfaced. Arrangements are being made to feed a large number of guests at any given time. The preparations for the wedding in one of the most influential political families in western Maharashtra have been discussed with a sense of awe for nearly a month. Jayant is the son of erstwhile political giant late Rajarambapu Patil, who controlled Maharashtra politics by taking on his rival, Vasantdada Patil, both belonging to the same district. Presently heading NCP’s state unit, Jayant has handled many important portfolios like home, finance and water resources in the state cabinet. The muhurta has been fixed at 5.35 pm on Sunday for tying the knot. Over the past few days, pre-wedding events like musical nights have taken place and some audio-video clips have become viral of the festivities. The newly married couple will accept good wishes from the guests at a special enclosure erected at Rajaram Nagar. Presence of various leaders is eagerly awaited since it would provide indications for future political formations in Maharashtra.
The infighting in Rajasthan Congress got a fresh lease of life with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot renewing his attack on his challenger Sachin Pilot. He not only called Pilot a ‘Gaddar’ but also accused him of taking money from the BJP to rebel in 2020. For some reason, Gehlot’s latest outburst was more a dare to the Gandhis to oust him from office. He threw the gauntlet at the Gandhi family barely 10 days before Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is to enter the state on December 3. So why is Gehlot precipitating a crisis? Has Gehlot heard anything from Kharge about imminent change? After all he had defied the Gandhis in the most unimaginable way possible and survived so far. He had refused to move to Delhi and become the AICC President. So why is he now trying to jeopardise Bharat Jodo Yatra? Gehlot claimed Pilot and MLAs supporting him were paid Rs 10 crore by Home Minister Amit Shah to rebel in 2020; he even claimed he had evidence of it. On his part, Pilot tried to be deferential and on the use of the word Gaddar, he said: “Such language doesn’t suit him… In the past too he called me useless.” Pilot’s MLAs are pinning hope on Jairam Ramesh’s statement that the differences between the two leaders will be resolved in a manner that strengthens the Congress. Will that happen?
Although Karnataka chief minister S R Bommai has indicated that his state will decide its stand over the border dispute with Maharashtra in an all-party meeting next week, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) feels the issue has been revived to divert attention from the statewide protests occurring against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for his utterances regarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde had sent a feeler that the issue can be resolved through dialogue and Bommai has responded to it. But Sena MP Sanjay Raut said there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to rake up the border issue. Bommai’s earlier statement that areas like Solapur district of Maharashtra should be merged with Karnataka has led to a wave of anger in the state. Against this backdrop, his readiness to consider Shinde’s offer is viewed as a signal to wait and watch. But the Sena (Uddhav) is viewing it differently. The interstate border dispute is now before the Supreme Court following a petition by Maharashtra to challenge the inclusion of Marathi-speaking areas like Belgaum, Nipani and Karwar in Karnataka. Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, representing Marathi-speaking population’s interests in Karnataka, has been agitating for the past six decades peacefully to press its demands. However, leadership in Karnataka has declared its intent to make Belgaum the state’s second capital. Incidentally, Belgaum is at the core of the dispute.
India has expressed its displeasure after a US state department official referred to PM Narendra Modi while talking about waiver to Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman to travel to the US. At its weekly briefing on November 25, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi frowned upon remarks made by the US state department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel in citing examples of immunity given to several heads of state including Indian PM Modi along with that of Saudi Crown Prince. “Frankly, I fail to understand how the comment on PM Modi was either relevant, necessary or contextual. Our two countries enjoy a very special relationship which is growing from strength to strength and we look forward to working with the US to further deepen it,” said Bagchi. Significantly, he also flayed attempts in the social media to downplay the outcome of the bilateral meetings at G-20 summit at Bali between US President Biden and PM Modi. “We’ve seen some social media stuff. So let me just say the PM did meet President Biden on a number of occasions during the course of the Bali Summit, including a brief bilateral meeting and trilateral meeting that involved President Widodo (Indonesia). During these interactions, they exchanged views on a number of issues. Our press releases and tweets as well as you would recall foreign secretary’s briefing in Bali, encapsulates all these conversations.”
Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde’s unscheduled detour in Nasik district on Wednesday (Nov 24) has become the talk of the town following media reports that he had dashed to Eeshanyeshwar temple in nearby Sinnar to consult an astrologer. ‘Shinde came only for darshan in the temple, not to know his future,’ astrologer Ashok Kharat has clarified. Shinde had visited the famous Shirdi Saibaba temple amidst tight security on Wednesday. On way back to Mumbai, his convoy suddenly turned to Eeshanyeshwar temple in adjacent Sinnar taluka. This diversion in his schedule resulted in his criticism in which NCP president Sharad Pawar and many Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leaders joined. Workers of the anti-superstition groups, too, hit out at Shinde ‘for this anti-scientific act.’ Education minister Deepak Kesarkar, who had accompanied the CM and his wife to the temple, has explained that Shinde had made a donation some time ago to the astrologer who wished to develop a shelter for cows. Kharat had requested Shinde to visit the temple and the CM acquiesced. Kesarkar said, “Kharat is my friend. Revenue minister Radhakrishan Vikhe Patil and I were present with the Shinde couple.” Disapproving the spread of ‘wrong’ information, Kesarkar quipped, “Had Shinde wanted to know his future, he would have called Kharat to Mumbai.” One of Shinde team’s ministers remarked, “Shinde creates futures. He does not need to know his future from an astrologer.”
Trinamool Congress (TMC) is trying to gain a foothold in the North-eastern states. It has seriously started campaigning in Meghalaya which goes to poll in March 2023. Having bitten the dust in Tripura in the last Assembly polls held in 2018 and by-poll in 2021, TMC’s focus on Meghalaya came to fore after the former chief minister Mukul Sangma switched camps from Congress to Trinamool in November 2021. Interestingly, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s mission to evolve from a regional party to a national party is being shaped in the north-east. It may be recalled that her Goa experiment failed miserably. Didi, who is personally focusing only on West Bengal, has asked her nephew, party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to oversee the North-eastern states affairs. And he has got into the new role quickly. He has already addressed a rally in Tura and is expected to do more in the coming months. Besides, he has launched a scathing attack against the present state government led by Conrad Sangma, chief of National People’s Party, who is in alliance with the BJP. Abhishek has claimed that the NPP government is shadow governed by the Centre and Assam chief minister Hemant Biswa Sarma. He announced that “sons of the Meghalaya’s soil Chief Minister Mukul Sangma would be the party’s chief ministerial face in the upcoming polls and that the TMC will not run the new government from Bengal if it comes to power.
After a day’s break, if PM Modi was back in Gujarat for electioneering it should not be a surprise; he is scheduled to address 35 more rallies in 93 assembly segments that are going to polls in the second phase on December 5. Over the next two days, he will address rallies at Mehsana, Dahod, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Palanpur, Dehgam, Matar, and Dholka. He has already addressed 16 rallies during his first visit, taking his overall tally of meetings to 50. It is apparent that Modi’s aggressive campaign is crucial to breaking his own record of 2002 when BJP won 127 seats. In fact, at the end of his speeches Modi appeals to people to help CM Bhupendra Patel break his record so that Modi could go “back to do his work in Delhi” — that is to hand the BJP 150 seats. Gujarat takes a lot of pride in Modi’s achievement as PM. It is for this reason Modi hit out at Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry’s remark about showing “aukat” to him. Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for hand-holding social activist Medha Patkar as someone opposed to Narmada Dam, Modi said those who stalled the Narmada project for 40 years through litigation had kept Gujarat thirsty for 40 years. “The people of Gujarat will punish those who are doing padyatra to get back to power and punish those who were against the Narmada project”.
The age-old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka has pitted BJP governments in both states against each other again. On the other hand, all political parties in Maharashtra have come together to oppose any move by the neighbouring state Karnataka in this direction. The dispute was born with the formation of Maharashtra and Karnataka (then Mysore) states on linguistic basis over 60 years ago. Several Marathi-speaking areas were included in Karnataka. Since then, the two states are at loggerheads even when both have had governments of the same parties, first the Congress and now the BJP. The dispute at present is before the Supreme Court. After an all-party meeting in Mumbai a couple of days ago decided to jointly fight the matter, Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai has asserted that his government was considering a demand by 40 villages in Jath taluka of Sangli district along the border to merge them with his state since they were facing water scarcity. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the demand was made way back a decade ago. During his chief ministership, the problem of water shortages was handled by him. If the remedy is held up due to some reason, it will be implemented soon, he promised. Fadnavis has emphatically declared that not a single village from the state will go to Karnataka.
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.
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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.