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In his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, PM Narendra Modi was at his aggressive best as he savaged LoP Rahul Gandhi. From mocking the Congress leader and two members of his family for becoming MPs — mother Sonia and sister Priyanka — at the same time to turning “certain spaces into personal museums”. He was referring to the manner in which the Gandhi family maintains control over Indira Gandhi Memorial and had refused to share documents pertaining to the Rajiv Gandhi era with the Prime Ministers’ Museum. The PM said we have established the Prime Ministers’ Museum, where the legacy of every Prime Minister—from the first to my predecessors—has been honoured. “I urge their family members to visit it.” Taking a swipe at the three Gandhis who are all MPs, Modi said, “I pose an important question to the citizens through this House — have there even been three MPs simultaneously from the same family of SC community? I also ask, tell me if there ever were three MPs simultaneously from the same family belonging to the ST community…” There is a vast difference between their words and actions. However, the harshest jab was when Modi felt leaders have compulsions to raise questions on foreign policy to be taken seriously — he was referring to questions raised by both Rahul and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on tensions with China. He asked them to read Bruce Riedel’s book JFK’s Forgotten Crisis— as it details discussions between India’s Nehru and the U.S. President John F Kennedy, revealing how foreign policy was handled during challenging times and the games played in its name. Congress leaders are apparently not amused by this suggestion.
Congress bossman Rahul Gandhi told Parliament that External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s USA visit only sought an invite for PM Narendra Modi for the U.S. President Donald Trump’s oath ceremony. Jaishankar refuted RaGa’s averments, without revealing the true purpose after having accomplished never before witnessed outcomes. Highly placed sources reveal, “India’s MEA secured distinction of only nation’s representative holding bilateral discussions with the newly installed U.S. government both, before and after, official transition of power.” Dr Jaishankar didn’t elucidate beyond dismissing Gandhi’s tall tales to the Lok Sabha, but actually established grounds for PM Modi to ink U.S. deal for technology transfer regarding fifth/sixth generation fighter engines deliberately kept in abeyance over two years by erstwhile Biden administration. India will be on par though F35 fighter was doled out to Pakistan and, even poised to counter Chinese aviation capabilities with next generation fighters. Dr Jaishankar also held discussions with newly installed FBI director Kash Patel, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard over sensitive issues regarding Indian nationals targeted by earlier dispensation. Another positive outcome: Funding cut off for Gurpatwant Singh Panun, separatist pro-Khalistani rebel, creating aviation scares in India through threats of blowing up Indian commercial airliners. More covert results were achieved to become apparent sooner than later even as Rahul Gandhi termed Dr Jaishankar’s international statesmanship as mere kow-towing to U.S. hegemony.
Ever since mid-January when Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was accompanied by his son Nishant Kumar at a political function in Bakhtiyarpur, there has been a buzz that the JD(U)leader’s son would be taking a political plunge. The event was to pay tributes to freedom fighters, including Nitish’s father Ram Lakhan Singh, who too had participated in the freedom movement. Soon after the function, 50-year old Nishant, the only child of Nitish and his late wife Manju Sinha, told the local gathering that his father had put Bihar on the fast track of development and appealed to them to make him CM again. Nishant’s appeal came in the midst of reports that he was keeping indifferent health and had reduced public interaction. An engineer by training, Nishant had so far kept away from public glare. Raised by his mother, he is known to have spent time away from his father and dabbled in spiritualism. He came to live with his father only after his mother passed away in 2007. Those who have known the JD (U) supremo personally as well as politically feel with an indifferent health Nitish may no longer be in a position to even oppose entry of his son into politics much as he has always opposed dynastic politics. A section of JD(U) dominated by Kurmis is reportedly rooting for Nishant’s entry to perpetuate Nitish Kumar’s legacy; this section doesn’t care if it fits with Nitish Kumar’s vision of politics. It is being argued that JD(U) can’t survive without Nitish’s legacy. As for those competing against the towering stature of Nitish Kumar in Bihar — both the BJP and RJD — are also keen that a bumbling newbie and dynast Nishant does take the plunge and salvage JD(U). Ahead of assembly polls, JD(U) is likely to witness a churn.
What goes out seems to return to the same place. Well, how else could one view the unfolding scenario. Reports suggest that Aditya Birla Group-owned UltraTech Cement is in advanced talks to acquire Heidelberg Cement India. Heidelberg Cement India is the subsidiary of HeidelbergCement Group, Germany. It entered India in 2006 with the acquisition of erstwhile Mysore Cement, Cochin Cement and a JV with Indorama Cement. The company has plants at Damoh (MP), Jhansi (UP), and Ammasandra (Karnataka). If this acquisition happens, UltraTech may get Zuari Cements as well, which is a part of the Heidelberg Group. In such an eventuality, the Sitapuram plant of Zuari will also come under UltraTech. The Sitapuram plant was once with The India Cements (ICL). The India Cements got the Sitapuram plant as a bonus when it acquired Raasi Cement many years ago. Subsequently, India Cements sold the Sitapuram plant to Zuari to raise funds. The Parli grinding unit of India Cements, it may be recalled, was acquired by UltraTech. Since UltraTech has taken over India Cements, the Parli grinding unit has technically returned to its original place (since India Cements has now become a subsidiary of UltraTech). Well, the world is small after all. And, the world is indeed round!
An estimated 30% of the IAS administered Indian bureaucracy actively considers the VRS option. According to well-placed sources, “Last three years registered a spurt in the number of pending applications to exercise the VRS option, most officers still having over five years of service left. The handsome pension amount appears lucrative to many, including those put on notice by the Union government (and respective state governments like Maharashtra) for low productivity, efficiency and delinquent public service.” Majority of the pending applications seek the cushy handshake option, while those who fell foul of GOI evaluation parameters were told to consider exit plans sooner than resignation options later. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 1.0 and 2.0 tenures (between 2014 and 2024) had witnessed not only weeding out of senior officials through shortening of tenures under government service but also witnessed the lateral entry of professionals and industry domain specialists into government service. Similarly, several officials continue to perform government service notwithstanding their respective retirement from service due to their diligent and outstanding performance till retirement to include Pravin Pardeshi (CEO of MITRA). Others like former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Dr Nitin Kareer are also expected to be tapped for active post-retirement service to the nation, sources reveal. As pen-pushing, non-productive Babus opt for early retirement the Maharashtra IAS fraternity anticipates similar cleansing of Maharashtra’s state secretariat that may be on the cards once again.
After all the hype over the low-cost DeepSeek artificial intelligence from China that seemed to be threatening the earlier model, doubts have begun to surface, at least in India, about its ability to continue posing a challenge to ChatGPT in the long term. The new app, which became the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Store in the U.S. a fortnight after its launch on 10 January 2025, resulted in a steep fall in the share price of the more established Nvidia. While various users and reviewers have hailed it as a harbinger of the “global AI space race”, experts here are raising the old question of the longevity and reliability of anything made in China, especially when it is priced at a fraction of others in the same space. Says one leading infotech player, expressing the opinion of many in the field: “Like any data from China, nobody knows the real cost — it may be a whole lot higher than those incurred by Open AI.” Drawing a parallel with renewable energy, this expert points to a record 11 Gw of wind turbines commissioned years ago with turbines in almost all remote areas but no connection to the grid. “Renowned global consultants based in China whom I have met, always take any data from the Chinese government or otherwise from China with a pound of salt,” he adds. “It is perhaps disruptive news to pull the U.S. down. Let’s wait and see.” The Chinese company, established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang in 2023, is owned and funded by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which develops open-source large language models (LLMs).
In recent times, Bollywood has seen a noticeable shift, with many newcomers struggling to leave a lasting impression on audiences. This decline can be traced back to a variety of factors, including the selection of projects that fail to resonate with viewers. Gone are the days when iconic films like Betaab, which introduced Sunny Deol or Rocky which launched Sanjay Dutt, captivated audiences and launched the careers of these stars. So too Jackie Shroff with Hero. In contrast, today’s newcomers like Suraj Pancholi, Siddhant Kapoor and Sasha Agha find themselves lost in films that do not provide them with the platform to showcase their talents effectively. The recent film Azaad featuring Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani serves as a case in point. Aaman Devgn, nephew of Ajay Devgn has struggled to make a significant impact, while Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani managed to capture some attention with her performance. Many of the films do not offer the newcomers a fair opportunity to shine; often focusing more on star power than on storytelling. For instance, in Azaad, the narrative centres around the titular horse rather than the lead pair, which diminishes the impact of the human characters. This misalignment can lead to a lack of engagement from the audience, making it difficult for the actors to connect with viewers. Aaman’s performance, despite being camera-friendly, lacks the emotional depth and histrionics that are often necessary to truly engage the audience. In contrast, Rasha stands out with her strong screen presence and impressive dance moves, showcasing a talent that could potentially elevate her career. Ultimately, even when a film does not resonate with audiences, a standout performance can create opportunities for newcomers to prove themselves.
The England captain Jos Buttler did not mince words on the matter of fast bowler Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as the like-for-like “concussion substitute” in the fourth Twenty20 international in Pune. The scoreboard will show left-hander Dube having scored 53 off 34 balls with 7x 4s and 2x6s – a fine performance that went a long way in India posting a stiff 181 in 20 overs after being rocked by Saqib Mahmood’s three-wicket burst in his first over. It was Dube’s first international match in eight months. Rana, who replaced Dube after India chose to use the “Concussion substitute” rule at the innings break, ended up with flattering figures of 3 for 33, sending down his full quota of four overs. Rana took the wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton – all capable of giving the ball a solid whack. A pertinent question that cropped up was whether “Rana was a like-for-like’’ replacement for Dube, particularly as a fast bowler. In his previous 33 matches, Dube had sent down 45.3 overs and taken 11 wickets with a 3 for 30 as his best against Bangladesh in Nagpur in 2019. He did not bowl in 11 matches and went wicket-less in 15. Buttler disagreed with “Rana coming in for Dube” and wondered if Dube’s bowling speed had shot up by 25 miles per hour or if Rana’s batting had improved. On the face of it, Rana was a far from like-for-like replacement for Dube. India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, explained that the team forwarded Rana’s name and the match referee, Javagal Srinath approved it. The unsavoury event will compel the ICC to mull over the “Concussion substitute” rule.
Armed with a landslide majority in Maharashtra, the BJP, it is learnt, is now strongly pushing its coalition partners up against the wall. Not only has it launched a strong attack against Ajit Pawar’ party deputy leader Dhananjay Munde but it is keeping Eknath Shinde on the edge too. While the knives have been sharpened against controversial minister Dhananjay Munde demanding his resignation for the alleged involvement of his aide in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Munde and his party have been resisting and fighting it against all odds. While Ajit Pawar may have strongly backed Munde for now, he realises that the BJP may not stop at him and could launch fresh salvo against his other deputies. Hence, Pawar has directed his men to maintain a clean slate and even demanded that freshers be vetted before giving entry in his party. His contemporary, Eknath Shinde too is not having it easy with BJP ministers like Ganesh Naik eyeing his Thane stronghold and launching a worker engagement campaign clearly with an eye on the forthcoming local body polls. While Shinde chose to brush aside concerns, his workers have threatened to do a quid pro quo by launching similar exercises in BJP’s constituencies. Shinde did not attend the cabinet meeting last week, while Munde is believed to have left mid-way. The BJP strategy seems to be to keep the coalition partners constantly on the edge.
The year 1952 saw the release of a cult movie and a classic coming together of two names that shaped Dravidian cinema indelibly. A talented writer from Thirukkuvalai …the indomitable M Karunanidhi (DMK founder) and a firebrand actor who set the template for Tamil cinema…Sivaji Ganesan. These two cinema debutants made Parasakthi, an evergreen movie still remembered by connoisseurs of this powerful medium. Suddenly, Parasakthi is in the news. Two Kollywood producers are claiming the title Parasakthi. Vijay Antony (actor-producer-director-music director) claims that his 25th movie under production, Sakti Thirumagan has been already registered as Parasakthi for its Telugu version in July 2024. His posters were splashed on X. Imagine the shock that Town Pictures and avant garde director Sudha Kongara got on hearing that their Sivakarthikeyan’s 25th film Parasakthi has an ostensible me too. This was no filmi coincidence. A high decibel legal battle is being averted by Akash Bhaskaran, emissary of Kongara who met Antony to resolve the issue. AVM Pictures also endorsed that the title was given to Kongara’s team and all concerned were just heaving a sigh of relief. Then for Kongara trouble came from an entirely unexpected quarter. The legal heirs of Perumal Mudaliar, National Pictures, original Parasakthi producers decided to digitalise the 1952 hit and re-release it. This claims that the Krishnan Panju directed original has allotted only distribution rights to AVN for a few areas, that no other house could use the title. Avowedly, the Sivaji craze and the Kalaignar charisma guarantee big crowds.
The ruling national party BJP is facing the biggest challenge nine years after coming to power at the Centre. It has lost assembly elections before but never been beaten out of sight. Such a prospect is in the offing in Karnataka unless its lead campaigner and charismatic leader Narendra Modi can pull a rabbit out of a hat again. The word on the ground is the Congress is in for a big shot at revival in Karnataka even as the BJP campaign has hit solid roadblocks. Lingayat leaders have been deserting the BJP and without their backing it would struggle to win enough seats for a majority though the JD(S) is expected to lose ground. The distribution of tickets is always tricky business. The BJP’s cleaning up campaign to deny seats to incumbents whose image may have taken a hit has not been popular with those who have been left out. This is the first time that whispers on the ground are suggesting that even local BJP leaders are inclined to accept that the tide is turning against them and the sympathy factor when JD(S) was up to its old tricks has dried up. Karnataka, important for a BJP footprint in the south, might slip away unless Modi can convince the voters that he can control local leaders whose corrupt ways have led to this.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched his campaign in Karnataka from Kolar from the very spot where his August 2019 speech cost him membership of the Lok Sabha. Accused of “insulting” OBCs as he had mocked Modi surname in a defamation case, Rahul decided to take on the government on the caste question. Rahul urged PM Modi to release the findings of what the Congress-led UPA regime had compiled — the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011. He reminded the government that reports from the census have been published except that of the caste data. In urging release of caste census data Rahul may be pushing the case of a lot of Centrist parties from the Hindi heartland like the RJD and JD (U) for a caste-based census. Rahul also exuded confidence about coming to power in Karnataka. He also indicated as to who his choice of chief minister would be: PCC chief D K Shivkumar is clearly a front runner. AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge is also backing DKS. Rahul is gung ho about his “government” that he made it clear that his team would implement its freebie promises in the first Cabinet meeting itself. Meanwhile, one hears senior leader Siddaramaiah has begun to sulk being denied an opportunity to contest from Kolar. The Kolar rally was such a double whammy for the Kuruba leader he was even asked to cut his speech short.
High-profile last-minute imports from BJP into the Congress like Jagdish Shettar and Laxman Savadi — one an ex-CM and another a deputy CM — are apparently not enough to convince Karnataka Congressmen that their party will return to power on May 13. Sources say both the Lingayat leaders are no last-minute imports; they were actually negotiating with the Congress leadership as a back-up option as they were aware they would be denied tickets. That is why the delay by the BJP to declare its list of Karnataka candidates had quite upset the Congress. But even the arrival of Shettar and Savadi, who were once close to B S Yediyurappa, is not cheering the Congress cadres mainly because they are not being viewed as an asset. Congress sources say if these leaders did not make the grade in PM Narendra Modi-Amit Shah’s list, in all possibility, voters may also ignore them. At best desertions can create a political mood against the BJP but then the ruling party managed to beat incumbency by fielding fresh candidates, avoiding fielding more than one person from a family and also getting rid of deadwood. This BJP approach has unsettled the Congress. While BJP has opted for going for fresh faces, the Congress has stuck to the groove –re-nominating the 92-year old sitting MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa from Davangere South.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik seems to be on a mission mode to transform his state. After steel and sports, now his government is betting big on semiconductor and information technology sectors. Patnaik is keen to make Odisha the next semiconductor hub. His immediate objective of the chip strategy is to train Odisha’s 85,000 qualified engineers in the areas of IT integration and embedded system design. To make this happen, the Odisha government has chalked an investment plan of Rs 30,000 crore to set up eastern India’s first FAB unit on 40-acre land near Bhubaneswar. Well known UK-based solutions provider SRAM and MRAM, has been roped in to get the projects off the ground. Post Covid-19 pandemic there has been severe chip shortages and this has severely affected car productions globally. This new plant at Odisha should become part of the global supply chain. The investment could run up to Rs 2 lakh crore over a period of time. It is understood that the SRAM & MRAM conglomerate will rope in global biggies to invest in this project. Odisha has numerous advantages like land availability, power, water and next door ports.
At a time when Kolkata Mayor and state minister for urban development Firhad Hakim was snubbed by the Trinamool Congress party in raising the parking fee in KMC areas, a few days back, the party’s projection of his eldest daughter Priyadarshini Hakim in the political arena has raised many eyebrows in the state. On March 29 she was seen at the dharna manch at the Gandhi statue along with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, she was seen hosting the All Women’s Daawat-E Iftar (grand Iftar meet) on April 8 under the aegis of West Bengal Trinamool Mahila Congress; she has been made general secretary of the same organization. Before entering politics she worked in the corporate communications department of CESC for 9 years. After her schooling from Modern High School she did postgraduate in public relations from Xavier Institute of Communications. Sources in the TMC said that a section of TMC leaders are aggrieved with the sudden rise of Priyadarshini. Is it because of her father’s proximity to Didi? Political analysts however feel that it’s a calculated measure of Didi to win over the minority people of the state. According to Biswanath Chakarborty, Professor of Political Science at Rabindra Bharati University, “TMC is facing wrath in the state, because of the tainted image of some of the prominent leaders. Priyadarshini is the new face and so the party thought it to be wise to project her before the panchayat elections.”
Maharashtra governor Ramesh Bais is said to be replaced soon so as to free him to lead the Chhattisgarh BJP for the coming assembly election at the end of the year. A top leader in the state once under BJP’s domination, Bais was appointed as Maharashtra governor on 12 February in place of Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who had to pack his bags amidst a slew of protests over some of his statements. Bais had been elected to the Lok Sabha repeatedly to represent Raipur constituency, the capital of Chhattisgarh. However, the BJP’s decision to deny another chance to all its sitting MPs in Chhattisgarh had come as a shock. Never reacting to this decision, Bais worked as governor of Tripura between 2019 and 2021. Later, he took over as governor of Jharkhand in July 2021. The BJP leadership’s search to prop up some state leaders after its defeat in the last assembly election came to a naught. Therefore, it is said to have decided to come back to the trusted and tasted Bais to accept the mantle. Bais has maintained a stoic silence about the possibility. In case Bais is replaced, the party will have to install some loyalists into the sensitive Mumbai Raj Bhavan in view of the soon to be expected Supreme Court verdict about the change of government in Maharashtra and the Lok Sabha as well assembly elections next year.
Soon after returning from Japan, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has been facing the heat from the Opposition parties. This relates to Supreme Court upholding Odisha High Court ruling of 2010 cancelling 7,000 acres of land acquisition by the state government for Vedanta Foundation citing irregularities of land acquisition process. The top court said the Odisha government played favourites with Anil Agarwal overlooking bio-diversity, ecology, sustainability aspects of land acquisition. Congress announced a six days agitation demanding CM’s resignation. BJP’s Sambit Patra said the SC verdict is a serious concern. BJD countered Patra by saying Manmohan Samal, BJP’s Odisha President who was state revenue minister between 2004 and 2008 when BJD -BJP were coalition partners was when the Vedanta project conceived. BJD also said the university project was conceived by then higher education minister Samir Dey who is now a BJP leader. BJD said infighting within BJP has started with Sambit Patra exposing fellow BJP leader Manmohan Samal. Meanwhile, BJD’s own Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has joined the Opposition chorus demanding CBI investigation into the fake certificate racket since the state crime branch has not delivered results so far.
There are super teams in T-20 owned by Indian franchises that will soon be dictating terms to world cricket. But even their influence and reach could be dwarfed by a super T-20 league that is being planned in Saudi Arabia as part of its ‘greenwashing’ programme through sport and tourism. The Indian franchises like MI, CSK, KKR and others already owning teams beyond India are likely to be included in the super Saudi League that will be spending billions on the sport and its players. It is learnt that Saudi authorities are already in talks with international franchises around the world. Why they would like to rope in the Indian franchises is because Indian players cannot play in foreign T-20 leagues and that could change only if the likes of MI and CSK are roped in to play in the Saudi Super league. Cricket is the next big project for the Saudis after Formula One and LIV golf. The ICC Chairman Greg Barclay himself acknowledged that the Saudis are serious about bringing cricket to the kingdom. “Given their advance into sport, cricket would work quite well for the Saudis,” he said. Building stadiums might take a year or two with venues in Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla and the Red Sea. They will also have a ready-made cricket knowing crowds of Indian expats who are working in Saudi. So cricket must get ready for another super T-20 boost.
In Rajasthan, for some time ruling Congress has been subject of regular jousts between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot. With assembly elections at the end of this year, Pilot thought it fit to launch a diatribe against Gehlot last week accusing him of not acting on corruption charges against BJP leader Vasundhara Raje. He even went ahead with a day-long protest over the CM’s inaction against Raje, in spite of being advised against it by the AICC. Pilot reportedly refused to speak to anyone other than the Gandhis. This confidence of the former Rajasthan PCC seemed somewhat misplaced. As neither Rahul nor Priyanka bothered to reach out to him. Congress sources admitted that Gehlot seemed to have developed better equations with the Gandhis so much so they felt any move to replace him would be like a repeat of Punjab where they had sacked Capt Amarinder Singh ahead of Punjab polls that led to collapse of the Congress in the state. PM Modi made best use of Gehlot-Pilot face off. At the launch of Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express between Ajmer and Delhi, PM not only referred to Gehlot as a friend and praised him for attending the event despite the ongoing political crises in his party. Modi also put to rest speculations that Pilot could make his way into the BJP. By attacking Raje, Sachin has probably ruled himself out of the BJP.
Rs 1,34, 317,00,00,000 crore. Those were the sensational figures used to portray the Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai’s projection of the assets owned by DMK leaders. In a bombshell announcement on Tamil New Year Day on which he also undertakes a padayatra, Annamalai, the ex-police officer, detailed what he believes are the kind of assets that DMK leaders have piled up over the years. He released a document titled ‘DMK Files’ where he published the assets list of DMK top leaders from the first rank of DMK families including late M Karunanidhi, Chief Minister MK Stalin, Kanimozhi, Durga Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sabareesan (MK Stalin’s son in law), Senthamari, (Stalin’s sister), Dayanidhi Maran, Murasoli Maran, CEO of Sun TV Network, MK Alagiri (Karunanidhi’s son) and Dhayanidhi Alagiri. He alleged that DMK top ministers and CM MK Stalin’s family members had unaccounted assets worth Rs 1,343,170, 000,000 crore in their family members, friends and benami’s name. “27 DMK leaders alone have assets amounting to over Rs 2 lakh crore, which is 10% GDP of Tamil Nadu.” BJP Tamil Nadu state president alleged. “The part 1 of the DMK files which contains the assets of DMK families released today. Part 2 will be out soon which will release the details of the black money assets of the DMK families.” Many more revelations are likely in the days to come. As is customary, most TV channels were asked to block the news out.
If there is one thing that will cheer Tamil speaking people, it was the way PM Modi extolled the contribution of Tamil as the world’s oldest language. Taking part in the Tamil New Year celebrations at the residence of his ministerial colleague L Murugan, Modi lauded the Tamil community ahead of April 14 Puthandu or new year festivities. Reaching out to the community, PM stressed the uniqueness of Tamil people and culture, and professed his attraction and emotional attachment towards the Tamil culture. “There is a lot in the Tamil culture that has shaped India as a nation”, he said. He also mentioned Venkatesa Perumal temple in Kanchipuram and Chathuranga Vallabhanathar Temple for their astonishing modern relevance and their rich ancient tradition. He remembered quoting in Tamil at the United Nations and attending the Grih Pravesh Ceremony at Jaffna. He expressed deep satisfaction of the success of the recent Kashi Tamil Sangamam. “In this program, we have celebrated antiquity, innovation and diversity simultaneously”, said the PM. Referring to the craze for the books of Tamil learning at the Sangamam, Modi said “In the Hindi speaking region, in this digital age, Tamil books are loved like this, it shows our cultural connect. I believe, the lives of Kashi residents are incomplete without Tamil people, I have become a Kashi Vaasi, and without Kashi, the lives of Tamil people are incomplete.”
The boundary issue between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh has reached a flash point. It could become a big election issue in 2024. The matter revolves around Kotia group of 21 villages in remote Koraput district bordering AP. The issue is about bizarre administrative overlaps not experienced anywhere else in the country. Kotia has two elected sarpanches, and two land pattas and two voter identity cards representing both Odisha and AP governments respectively. Both state governments are competing with each other to flood Kotia tribals with welfare measures including subsidized food grains. Besides, the school going children are split into Odisha Aganwadi Oriya schools and AP funded Telugu schools. So much so that people are confused about which is their home state. AP government is building documentary evidence to stake claim on more Odisha villages. To stop this inconclusive fight, the Odisha government moved the Supreme Court which has given 28 days to both the governments to explain their positions. The pressure is now on AP to prove their innocence. Meanwhile the politicians sensing a great opportunity are playing to the gallery. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan who hails from Odisha has escalated the matter with the prime minister. But with matters in the Apex Court everybody has to wait and watch.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has revised his stand on the need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani issue. “I am all for opposition unity and hence will not be rigid if other friends feel differently,” Pawar told Marathi news channel ABP Majha. He said although his views could be different, he would not permit the Opposition team to be affected on this count. Pawar spoke on various developments including the change of guard in Maharashtra in June 2022. He criticised then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to resign without consulting the other two partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which ruled the state for 30 months. Pawar pointed out that the coalition had come to power unitedly and hence Uddhav should have interacted with them before taking such a decision. Unilateral decisions can lead to an adverse outcome, he warned. Pawar has been hitting headlines over the past few days, refuelling speculation about his party’s exact policy and plans. For instance, the NCP chief had dismissed the need to investigate the Prime Minister’s academic degree. Pawar’s luncheon visit to the residence of senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari at Nagpur a week ago had similarly renewed innuendos by some opposition leaders to recall Ajit Pawar’s swearing in with Devendra Fadnavis in 2019. They are apprehensive about his future steps.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting West Bengal on April 14. Shah’s visit is timed when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the state BJP for orchestrating violence during Ram Navami in the districts of Howrah and Hooghly. Shah, who will be on a two-day tour to Bengal, will hold a rally on April 14 at Trinamool Congress (TMC) bastion — Suri in Birbhum. Incidentally, TMC strongman of Birbhum and Mamata’s close aide, Anubrata Mondal was arrested almost a year back in cattle smuggling case making the district an open ground for the BJP. Besides, this visit is also going to be a part of the saffron camp’s focus on 24 Lok Sabha constituencies out of 42 in which the BJP could not win in the 2019 General Elections. It may be recalled that Birbhum has two out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, Bolpur and Birbhum and in the last parliamentary election the ruling TMC had defeated the BJP by a high margin. Sources said Shah has already received reports that the state unit has failed to direct the district units to consolidate the party’s position in places of South Bengal where TMC is facing anti-incumbency. Apart from Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda will also visit 12 such constituencies to boost the morale of the party workers.
The office of Governor, a colonial era relic, is under fire like never before. The very need for it is being questioned vigorously by State governments that resent the holder of an ornamental office virtually spying on the States that host them. The Tamil Nadu Governor, probably the one most under fire in a mantle he may have inherited from Jagdeep Dhankar who has become the Vice President of India, went by the Constitution in clearing the Bill banning online gambling because he was bound to sign legislation that was sent to him a second time after being passed in the Assembly. Ironically, on the very day that he did his duty, he was being roasted in the Assembly with MLA after MLA finding it difficult to stay within boundaries and refrain from personal attacks which the Speaker was advising. But then Governor R N Ravi had never missed an opportunity to wage an ideological war with one comment or another on the Dravidian model, Sanatana dharma, the treatment of SC/STs, the uniform test of NEET in medical education. The cold vibes between the two was obvious as they accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi to various functions in Chennai even as CM Stalin and PM Modi were displaying bonhomie like never before. Tamilisai’s problems were almost as many in Telangana as States are beginning to take on Governors with a vengeance.
It seems Odisha politics is getting murkier by the day thanks to BJP and Congress. Both these Opposition parties are trying their best to derail the Biju Janata Dal government headed by the popular chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Towards this, they are punching holes into everything Patnaik is doing, even if it is in the best interest of the state. Take for instance, Patnaik visited Japan recently and managed to get an investment commitment of Rs 26,000 crore from that country. Instead of supporting his move, both the BJP & Congress have criticized Naveen babu’s Japan business visit as a “vacation trip”. For them, Patnaik should have prioritized border issues with Andhra Pradesh since it has intruded into Kotia which belongs to Odisha. Business investment apart, Naveen has successfully touched Japan’s spiritual heart beckoning Buddhist pilgrimage to visit Dhaulagiri, Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri. Most Japanese investors have welcomed Patnaik’s direct approach which ended mindless bureaucracy. Surely, the Opposition parties could not digest Patnaik donning the mantle of economic ambassador of Odisha and sweeping in positive Japanese investment proposals which has electoral voting consequences. Even cynics admit that under Patnaik’s leadership, Odisha is fast transforming that will finally result in raising the standard of living of its nearly 5 crore people.
Absence of Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Chennai over last weekend made for intense speculation in Tamil social media. Even the news media was abuzz with suggestions that the dynamic party leader had been asked to take a back seat in local politics to sort out issues with new AIADMK boss and former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS). Regional media that have been hostile to Annamalai’s rising acceptance among local people almost had a field day hinting at his political epitaph. Little did they reveal that the former IPS officer was missing in Chennai with a purpose; he was after all handling poll-bound Karnataka along with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In fact he was closeted with Union Home Minister Amit Shah discussing BJP’s Karnataka list. As a Karnataka-cadre officer, party top brass valued Annamalai’s input. That means his rivals in Tamil Nadu be better prepared for a long haul: both inside & outside BJP.
In a gesture made to reach out to the Catholics, PM Narendra Modi visited the Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral in Delhi to greet and wish Happy Easter. It made big political news as it came amidst Karnataka assembly elections. But then during his Church visit, PM Modi held no discussion or made any appeal; he merely listened to three Christian songs, lit candles and prayed for some time. He also planted a tree sapling in front of the Church to mark his first visit. Archbishops and Bishops gave him a memento of Jesus Christ. It was as a BJP leader put it Modi telling the world that “every Christian in India was now secure and happy”. His Church visit was kept such a secret that very few people knew about it. His visit to the Church was in sharp contrast to former Congress President Sonia Gandhi who didn’t want to be caught visiting the CBCI headquarters even one single time. “Sonia had made her entry and exit out of the Church through the back door — she, a baptized Catholic, didn’t want anyone to know. It was a very delicate occasion — the Archbishop had died; we had to make special arrangements for her. With Modiji, it is nice of him to make an open gesture of reaching out,” recalls a former Congressman now in BJP.
In the past two days there has been a sudden rush of high profile entrants into the BJP from the Congress. These accretions are being clearly made with a view to send a message ahead of Karnataka elections. It started with Anil Antony, son of former Defence Minister A K Antony, joining the BJP on April 6, four months after he quit the Congress after denouncing the BBC documentaries against PM Modi. A day later, Kiran Kumar Reddy, the last Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, joined the party. Reddy is known to be a straight bat who had got AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi sent to judicial custody in a hate speech case in 2013. He had resigned from the Congress a couple of weeks ago. Party sources said Reddy has a clean image. It was significant that he was inducted into the party by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who belongs to Karnataka. Hailing from a Congress family, Kiran Kumar admitted that he had never imagined that he would leave the Congress. Meanwhile, as for Anil Antony joining the BJP and his father A K Antony expressing shock and surprise over his political moves, there is a sense of disbelief. Party sources feel the Stanford educated Anil would have kept his father in the loop. It is probable that senior Antony may have advised his son to exit the Congress for his own sake.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s whirlwind visit to Ayodhya on Sunday will achieve multiple objectives. Besides reaffirming the faith of the Shiv Sena under him in aggressive Hindutva, it will also force the hand of the rival Sena outfit led by Uddhav Thackeray to adopt a more pronounced hardline, but not without assessing the reaction of the Congress and other opposition parties in several states. Although Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party has been taking ambivalent stands on different issues, the Congress is upset since it has been compelled to backtrack on the Savarkar imbroglio. According to Shinde’s itinerary, he will spend April 9 in Ayodhya after landing at Lucknow airport, where he will be welcomed by thousands of Shiv Sainiks, who are already on their way to Uttar Pradesh. Shinde is likely to meet his UP counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, during the sojourn. Shinde’s supporters have enthusiastically participated in the Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in different areas of Maharashtra over the past week. Shinde and his ministers do not waste a single opportunity to needle the Sena (Uddhav) over the twin planks: Hindutva and Savarkar. Though Uddhav could bend the Congress to his will following his outburst over Savarkar, many regional opposition parties have not liked the outcome. Hence, Shinde’s one-day visit will result in scripting the next political moves, not just in Maharashtra.
PM Narendra Modi’s programmes in three southern states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are packed with hectic activities on April 8-9. His programme in Secunderabad on April 8 will be watched with interest as Telangana government has taken an adversarial position towards the Centre ever since BRS leader K Kavitha was questioned in connection with Delhi liquor scam. In a retaliatory move, the BRS government got Telangana BJP President and Secunderabad MP Bandi Sanjay arrested in a SSC question paper leak case. Arrest of its local leader has however not deterred the PM and he is going ahead with flagging off Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express on April 8. Of course, Bandi Sanjay has secured a bail. At 3 pm the same day, PM will reach Chennai Airport to launch the new terminal building. Completed at a cost of Rs 1260 crore, the new terminal will increase the passenger serving capacity of the airport from 23 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) to 30 MPPA. This terminal is a striking reflection of the local Tamil culture, incorporating traditional features such as the kolam & temple. At 4 pm, he will flag off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express at MGR Chennai Central Railway Station. At 4.45 pm, Modi will take part in the celebrations commemorating the 125th Anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna Math in Chennai. On April 9 PM Modi will visit Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
AIADMK and the local BJP under K Annamalai’s leadership are not on the best of terms. Despite being told to go easy on alliance talk, the former cop keeps harping on the uneasy ties and how 2024 Lok Sabha polls could see BJP go it alone in Tamil Nadu. This is why Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) is hoping to impress on Prime Minister Narendra Modi the need for BJP to treat his party as a trusted ally. EPS will be meeting the Prime Minister on his busy Chennai visit on Saturday (Apr 8) when he will also be asking him for a few seats in Tamil-dominated areas of Karnataka like KGF, Marthahalli and other border areas and Chamrajnagar for the polls on May 10. This would help seal the relationship with the NDA. Meetings that AIADMK MP, M Thambidurai, had with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda set the tongues wagging in the political circles. But the AIADMK was said to be feeding him with news of what the TN government and its leader MK Stalin are up to and how to keep a check on them. With the courts inclined to support a majority of the party that is behind EPS, the BJP is interested in furthering ties with him but would still keep a door open for the likes of O Panneerselvam in the hope of uniting Jaya’s party.
Fed up with the daily bout of mindless criticisms by the Opposition parties vis a vis negative media publicity, saw Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik delivering another masterstroke that would endear him to 4.5 crore people of his state. The 76-year seasoned politician along with his key ministers and bureaucrats flew into Japan to close a multi-million dollar deal which would generate employment and economically transform his state. Taking his third overseas business trip in the last 23 years, Naveen babu has managed to convince Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation to set up the world’s largest steel plant in Kendrapara and Paradeep beating South Korea’s Posco involving an investment of Rs 142,000 cr. The setting of this steel plant will see that Odisha emerges as the steel export hub of the world. The investment commitment from Japan could not have come at a better time. It also indicates that like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even Odisha chief minister is thinking about the state 24×7. Besides, Nippon the CM’s high level delegation held parleys with Marubeni Corporation and Avaada to explore opportunities in green hydrogen and green ammonia sectors in Odisha. Patnaik is also eyeing the potential of Buddhist and eco- tourism. Come to think of it, Patnaik has mastered the art of putting the money where his mouth is, little wonder he is one of the popular chief ministers in the country.
A vituperative verbal war has erupted between two topmost Maharashtra leaders over alleged manhandling of a woman political activist in Thane, hometown of chief minister Eknath Shinde. Both have used select abuses to attack each other. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has warned former CM Uddhav Thackeray, “I am from Nagpur and can use still worse language,” while responding to the invective hurled at him. Uddhav has called him ‘fadtoos’ (worthless) and a bootlicker while condemning an alleged attack on his follower Roshni Shinde by some women followers of the CM. The atmosphere in Thane was surcharged as the news of the incident spread on social media. Initial reports said Roshni was manhandled despite her being pregnant. She has been kept in the ICU ward of a Thane hospital. A spokesman of the hospital told the media that Roshni did not show any grievous injury nor was she pregnant. However, Uddhav rushed to Thane along with wife Rashmi and son Aaditya. After meeting her, Uddhav showered insults at Fadnavis, calling him the most inefficient home minister. “This is an impotent government which instigates attacks against women,” he charged. Fadnavis reacted with equal venom. He said, “”Some elements are worried since I am holding the home portfolio. They are trying their best to get rid of me. But they won’t succeed.” He has warned Uddhav to mind his language or face the consequences.
Congress MPs with well-appointed bungalows in Lutyens Zone are now a worried lot. Many feel they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice of vacating their house to accommodate their disqualified “leader”. In fact , a prominent leader from South, who has a large bungalow allotted to him because of his status reportedly approached Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri and told him that he be given a smaller bungalow as he is sick and tired of accommodating visitors from the South. Now the prospect of housing Rahul is also weighing on him. When Puri asked him to submit an application for change of bungalow in writing, the senior MP said he would wait to see the way Rahul’s matter takes shape in the courtroom. The Wayanad MP has been asked to vacate his house by the third week of April. If the process to stay his conviction is taken up by April 13, then Rahul may not have to move out of 12, Tuglak Road. Meanwhile, to counter the Congress narrative of Adani-Modi corruption link, the BJP has released a slick “Congress Files” video chronicling its years of corruption in office. It was aired on TV channels. Congress leaders who viewed it are shocked by claims made in the clip that over the years the partymen have been shown squirrelling away Rs 4 lakh crore plus from the exchequer!
The Kalakshetra dance school sexual harassment issue has taken a political turn with the Director Revathi Ramachandran, who is a BJP member and nominee of the Union Culture Ministry, under fire from the State Women’s Commission. After the NWC did a cover-up in collusion with the Director under pressure from BJP bigwigs, the State commission swung into action and turned the issue around in favour of the hundreds of girls who suffered sexual harassment for years at the renowned institute. Only under the prompting of the local commission did the Director agree to stop harassing girls who were coming forward to lodge complaints, including an FIR lodged with the police that set in motion the arrest of Assistant Professor Hari Padman. The said gentleman was felicitated on Women’s Day just last month for his contribution to dance, under the watchful eyes of Revathi. While a resignation would have been graceful given the circumstances and a number of complaints against her for not doing enough to protect young girls at the dance school, the Director now seeks an extension that should come up when her second term comes to an end in September. The State, well aware of the political undertones, has told the police to go all out to get the four accused male dance teachers for interrogation or custody. It’s now DMK versus BJP in the dance school fracas.
In an interesting move, Sri Lanka has expressed a keen interest to learn from India’s experience of digital governance and participatory policymaking to ensure faster socio-economic development and high economic growth. In this connection, on the invitation of the Sri Lankan government, an Indian delegation led by the Director General of National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) Bharat Lal called on the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe on April 1. He was accompanied by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagley, Associate Professor of NCGG Dr A P Singh, and other senior diplomats. During the meeting, President Ranil Wickremesinghe shared his vision to put the country on the path of high economic growth. The discussion centred around policy reforms, good governance, digitalization, capacity building, and assured public service delivery. The Sri Lanka President urged NCGG to help in establishing a University of Governance and Public Policy in his country. The Indian delegation met several senior civil servants of Sri Lanka, and everyone was keen to know how PM Narendra Modi has given a new governance model to eradicate poverty, ensure high-quality services, assured public service delivery, and high economic growth. Sri Lanka is keen to learn policy–driven governance model of India and the massive use of digital technology in the planning, execution, and monitoring of various programmes and projects.
Of late, the Union petroleum minister is camping most days in his home state Odisha. Not without reason. He is aspiring to become the next chief minister of the state. For that BJP has to romp home by turfing out a well-entrenched Biju Janata Dal government headed by Naveen Patnaik. Pradhan has fired the first salvo by branding Odisha as lawless state and lodged a formal complaint with the state governor Ganesh Lal. The accusation of Pradhan has to be viewed against the backdrop of the upcoming bypoll to be held at Jharsuguda assembly on May 10 and the General Elections in 2024. He is setting the political tone. This explains why a narrative is being built against the Patnaik government by both the BJP and Congress with regard to the unsolved murder case of Naba Kishore Das, a minister from BJD government and the recent murder of a 15-year old boy in poll bound Jharsuguda. Patnaik, says the murder issue is under investigation and has dismissed BJP allegations as self-serving political gains without any substance. Patnaik asks, if Odisha is a lawless state, how come the state continues to corner highest investments, make record industrial production, conducts major world scale events, maintains communal harmony and continues to win elections. Patnaik told Pradhan “Don’t insult Odisha for your petty political narrative”.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee holding a 30-hour dharna in Bengal’s capital, Kolkata, sent out a clear message that she will not leave any stone unturned to keep her stake in Regional Party Front intact. In fact, training her guns against the BJP over non-disbursal of funds by the Centre, Didi called for “Ekbar Aur Dilli Chalo” programme aimed at uniting the Opposition parties ahead of General Elections in 2024. Since the conviction and disqualification of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, Didi was prompt in supporting him contrary to her previous stance of calling Rahul as BJP’s TRP. She had also sent two TMC MPs to the recent Congress meeting called by its party’s president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. Significantly, Mamata met three non-BJP, non-Congress leaders earlier including her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. TMC is also talking to ex-NDA partners like Akali Dal. Meanwhile, Didi’s nephew and second in command of the party, Abhishek Banerjee has also hinted that the party is mulling the idea of filing defamation cases against BJP leaders including Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and PM Narendra Modi for catcalling “Didi, o Didi” during Bengal Assembly polls campaign in 2021.
Top Nationalist Congress party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has once again shown how a mature politician should behave and talk. Taking to task a Congress leader for his ‘inhuman’ utterances about selecting a candidate for the Pune Lok Sabha byelection, Pawar pulled up his own party colleague Jayant Patil for predicting the fall of the Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra. Pawar’s sharp response to media questions on both these sensitive issues was laced with outrage. He also admonished Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders not to vitiate the atmosphere in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, which is shaken by a communal incident in the night after Ramnavami. MVA has planned a public meeting there on Sunday (Apr 2) but it is doubtful if the administration will allow it in view of the tension in the area. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had stated that MVA will file a candidate in Pune seat, vacated owing to the demise of BJP MP Girish Bapat. When asked for his response, Pawar angrily said, “Have some humanity. It is just three days for the death of Bapat.” About Jayant Patil’s prediction, he said, “I shall be meeting Patil on Sunday. Shall ask him what clue he has found to make such a statement.” Refusing to criticise the state government about the Sambhajinagar incident, Pawar quipped that the priority was to restore normalcy. MVA leaders should desist from making any controversial statements, he has advised.
As the number of Covid cases resurge in Maharashtra with the state registering a 63% spike in daily cases and three deaths as on March 29, its health minister Tanaji Sawant seems preoccupied with completely different concerns. At a meeting in Pandharpur recently, Sawant admitted that the health ministry didn’t interest him and he had taken it up with much reluctance. He claimed that the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government had given him positions that didn’t interest him, be it the health portfolio or even the guardian ministry of Parbhani and Dharashiv districts. Not one to mince words, Sawant had openly admitted that he was planning rebellion against Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for denying him a ministerial berth in 2019, by holding over 100-150 meetings with legislators, over a period of two years when the state was reeling under Covid. Now, when the State is witnessing resurgence of Covid, the man at the helm, Sawant seems to be on a personal overdrive boasting that he could pull crowds much more than the likes of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee or even Bal Thackeray. Sawant is now eyeing the guardian minister’s slot for Solapur and has openly appealed to the chief minister and his deputy, to do the needful.
The Congress is betting big on an undercurrent of sympathy for Rahul Gandhi who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP in Karnataka assembly elections to help the party clinch a magical three- digit number. Party leaders are already talking of winning at least 130 seats. The Congress is hoping to project Rahul as a “victim” of BJP’s plot to unseat the Wayanad MP by a Surat trial court order in the defamation case regarding Modi surname. Interestingly, Rahul is launching his “Satyameva Jayate” campaign in Kolar on April 5, the same place where he made the contentious speech. Congress leaders are not willing to accept that Rahul was disqualified as MP on March 24, as per a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. Under the ruling, any MP or MLA stands to be disqualified automatically if convicted and sentenced to two years or more. Party leaders feel it was under heat of Rahul’s case that the Lok Sabha Speaker had revoked Lakshadweep NCP’s MP Mohammed Faisal’s suspension made in January. “Rahulji’s suspension is one of criminal defamation and it cannot be equated with Faisal’s case who was convicted in a case of assault” argued a Congress leader. Interestingly, Faisal was restored as MP this week just ahead of his appeal in the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, for Faisal, the SC has questioned the stay of his conviction by the Kerala HC. That means Rahul will watch his route of appeal.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik is pulling out all stops to transform his state at double quick time. The latest news from the state is the commencement of direct international flights, three times a week, round trip Bhubaneswar-Dubai beginning in April. This move is part of Naveen’s larger plan to catch the huge swath of the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and Japan markets to boost Odisha’s industrial growth, tourism and in the process create job opportunities. The immediate objective behind fast tracking direct international flights is to protect the Rs 21,000 cr investment proposals received from Dubai-Middle East and North African markets during the ‘Make in Odisha Investment Meet’ in Dubai last year. This explains why Patnaik government has agreed to invest Rs 100 cr towards Indigo Airlines viability funding including reduction of VAT in Aviation Turbine Fuel for direct international flights commencing from Bhubaneswar to Dubai. According to Prasanna Pradhan, Director, Bhubaneswar Airport the old Bhubaneswar airport is being refurbished to make it ready by end March 2023 and he expects ticket sales for Dubai to commence from April 1, 2023. Eventually, Indigo has plans to operate direct flights between Bhubaneswar-Bangkok and Singapore.
You bend to grow. So goes an old adage. Wisdom lies in a practical approach. That is what this management is doing. Rather than clinging on to a continuously losing unit, it is wiser to let it go. Well, the bosses at Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd (KICL) have now chosen to give up its SSP (single super phosphate)-making unit in Chennai. Well, they see a clear gain in giving this one up. Production of SSP at its Ennore unit was discontinued due to scarcity of imported quality raw materials. Also, working capital has proved a big issue. Given these, this facility was leased out to one of the manufacturers of fertilizers in Chennai. The lease is still on. A comprehensive review, however, has suggested that the company will be well served by getting rid of this unit. Well, it has now decided to sell the Ennore facility on a slump sale basis. The proposal has since got the approval of the shareholders. The business environment has turned topsy-turvy of late. Also, the debt burden of the company is mounting by the day due to assorted statutory and legal compulsions. Hopefully, the sale of SSP facility will ease the debt burden of KICL which is pining to return strongly in a new avatar under a fresh management.
With the Madras HC rejecting O Panneerselvam’s application, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) was elected unopposed as General Secretary of the AIADMK, a party founded by MGR in 1974. After his death it was in the iron grip of J Jayalalithaa for 27 years till her death in December 2016 which saw both EPS and OPS pitted against each other for the control of the party. With EPS firmly in the saddle, the scene at the party headquarters was upbeat with fire crackers bursting, a 50-kg laddoo on display and milk ‘abhishekam’ offered to the giant cut-out of EPS. Interestingly, EPS was coaxed to wear MGR’s signature cap and dark glasses. Not surprisingly, he obliged his party workers. His first announcement after the verdict was to add more muscle to the party with a membership drive. His second urgent strategy is to keep the current alliance partners intact especially PMK’s Dr Ramdas who is being wooed by DMK. But the real problem is Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. Both don’t see eye-to-eye. Annamalai who wanted to walk out of the alliance, and go solo, has been stopped in his tracks by the party’s Delhi high command. EPS is well aware of the serious hoops he has to jump. But, for now he is firmly in the saddle everybody will accept his leadership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unfazed by the sharp criticism mounted by the Opposition about the alleged role of the BJP leaders in the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification of his membership of the Lok Sabha. Modi’s response is that the BJP leaders should not fall prey to the barrage of “insinuating” attacks on him. His word to the party leaders is that they should go on the counter offensive and tell their constituents about the utterances of Rahul Gandhi on several matters including that on Veer Savarkar, which has already caused a split in the Maharashtra alliance. As far as Modi is concerned, the government has not interfered in any way either in the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s announcement. In 20 odd cases of disqualification of MPs and MLAs, the procedures adopted were the same. So why is BJP targeted? Modi thinks that the Opposition is nervous after the BJP’s impressive performance in the recent elections in the Northeast. They had a similar reaction after BJP’s Gujarat victory too. “The PM told us that the Opposition will attack us more as they are rattled by the repeated victories of the BJP. The more we win, the harsher the attack will be. Now they are worked up because of our wins in Gujarat and Northeast,” said an MP who was part of the meeting.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has once again kept his supporters and opponents intrigued simultaneously, this time by preventing censure of Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He has done it by forcing the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi to sheath their tirade against the Hindutva icon. At a meeting of various Opposition leaders at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the contentious issue was raised by Pawar, who warned that attacks against Savarkar would prove politically costly for all three partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – the NCP, Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena – in and beyond Maharashtra. This stand was supported by various Congress leaders, making Rahul to yield. Pawar has shocked the polity time and again by his changing priorities. A close confidant of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, he became a powerful minister under Manmohan Singh for 10 years. In 2014, he announced unilateral unasked support for the BJP in Maharashtra after the assembly elections. This announcement forced the BJP and the then Sena to form a coalition. In 2019, his nephew Ajit Pawar took oath along with Devendra Fadnavis but their regime survived barely 72 hours. Pawar’s masterstroke was installing Uddhav as Maharashtra chief minister. Once again, he has shown that he can give politics the direction he wishes.
For Odia actor and Biju Janata Dal Lok Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty the divorce battle with his actress wife Varsha Priyadarshini which has been getting uglier by the day, has reasons to smile. The Odisha High Court has declined Varsha’s petition to restrain media from accepting Anubhav’s video targeting her. So Anubhav is going full steam to project his side of the story. But, this domestic battle could derail his political career. The Odia actor who defeated BJP’s Baijayant (Jay) Panda in 2019 from Kendrapada’s constituency standing may not get the 2024 BJD ticket, party insiders. They are looking at alternative names to replace Anubhav because of the negative publicity he has received over his divorce battle. Sources say Anubhav has been left out of BJD’s recently held state campaigner list and this clearly indicates BJD’s thinking. Some time back BJD’s Cuttack district unit head Debasish Samantaray said “Parliamentarians should not wash dirty linen in public …they need to keep their image intact”. Names that are doing the rounds to replace Anubhav are: Mission Shakti Head Sujata Kartikeyan; wife of 5T Secretary V K Pandian as a possibility; Odisha energy minister Pratap Keshari Deb and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak could also be a possibility. Looks like Anubhav Mohanty may not get the Lok Sabha ticket and will now have to focus on his film career.
On a day of fast-paced action, Edappadi Palaniswami was declared elected as General Secretary of the AIADMK, the party founded by MGR and nurtured by Jayalalithaa. In the morning the Madras High Court had rejected a plea on behalf of the O Panneerselvam faction on delaying the election of the General Secretary of AIADMK. The interim applications filed by the OPS camp were rejected and the EPS group, with a clear majority of the party behind it, moved quickly to the party headquarters to first celebrate the news of the HC order and then go ahead and announce the election of EPS as General Secretary. Earlier, the court had allowed the election to go ahead but asked the EPS group not to announce the result until the court ruled finally in the matter. It is clear now that the will of the majority has prevailed and that the attempts by OPS, with a small splinter group basically comprising supporters of the Jaya confidante Sasikala, to scuttle the complete takeover of the party by the EPS group have failed. The control of the trust funds worth about Rs 3,000 crore will also rest with the EPS group. Of course, OPS may go to the Supreme Court with challenges, but the de facto position with EPS as duly elected General Secretary will continue until further orders.
It is no secret that Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has successfully run the state with a clutch of hand-picked trusted bureaucrats. These bureaucrats are so well entrenched that senior ministers take instructions regarding line of action or policy decisions from them. That’s Naveen babu’s style of empowerment. The continuance of bureaucratic top down decision-making has come with a price, a few days ago thereby forging unity amongst Opposition parties. The issue pertains to Odisha Housing Minister Usha Devi who was clueless about immediate cabinet decisions pertaining to her own department where she said she will check with the Principal Secretary while addressing the Media. The minister’s self-confession brought in a barrage of criticism over Patnaik’s style of running Odisha wherein the Cabinet Ministers are clueless about their own ministries. BJP Leader of Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra said “It is pathetic to see senior ministers standing in front of bureaucrats with folded hands for a darshan only to be heard.” BJD says, here lies Naveen’s unique brand of managing politics converging the think tank mind of bureaucrats and the party leaders working together assuring Odisha’s growth and development. The government and the bureaucrats complement each other where the CM’s work performance speaks for itself.
The Tamil Nadu Governor sits on the horns of a dilemma. The Bill against online Rummy was brought to the Assembly again by the Chief Minister MK Stalin and will be with the Governor soon for signing into law. As per the Constitution, R N Ravi is duty bound to sign it even though he passed judgment on it by saying that the original law as passed the first time in the Assembly was against the Constitution. He had questioned the legislative competence of the Assembly to pass such a law when the Supreme Court had consistently ruled that rummy is a game of skill and not of chance. But, being a stickler for going by the Constitution, the Governor cannot refuse the Bill once it is passed by the Assembly a second time. However irritated the State government may be by the Governor’s reluctance to sign Bills passed by the Assembly, it is true that Governor Ravi has gone by the Constitution in dealing with legislation. While there are Governors who simply sit on Bills without saying yes or no for an interminable time, Governor Ravi at least makes his case against legislation he believes goes against the grain of the Constitution and returns it to the State Assembly. The big question now is whether the Governor will precipitate another crisis by not signing the Bill into law.
In a surprise move, the Narendra Modi Government decided to go by the law and disqualified Rahul Gandhi following his conviction by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in a criminal defamation case on March 23 for his remark on the “Modi surname” while addressing an election rally in Karnataka in 2019. The Wayanad MP will be the second member after Lakshadweep Lok Sabha member PP Mohammed Faizal, who was disqualified within two days after his conviction in an attempt-to-murder case on January 11. Interestingly, Faisal’s disqualification by the Speaker was not revoked even after he appealed to the Kerala HC for a stay on his conviction and sentence, which the HC suspended on January 25. Official sources said the government felt encouraged to move against Rahul after several legal experts including Kapil Sibal pointed out that he stands automatically disqualified as an MP and getting only the jail sentence suspended was not enough. Rahul could have continued as an MP only if his conviction was stayed. That’s why eyebrows were raised about his visit to Lok Sabha a day after his conviction. In being convicted by a court, Rahul joins his grandmother Indira Gandhi who was convicted of election fraud in 1975. While Rahul’s legal team is confident of overturning the Surat court’s verdict in higher courts, party circles have begun to think of facing 2024 polls without Rahul. But then is Priyanka Vadra ready to helm the party at this crucial juncture?
While the Supreme Court has dismissed a petition over the renaming of Aurangabad saying it would be heard in the high court in Mumbai next week, over a lakh objections have been filed against the change though the number of supporting applications is less than 1300. The last date for filing objections or supporting applications in the Divisional Commissioner office is March 27. On March 23 alone, over 46000 objections were filed to oppose the rechristening. So far, around 115,000 applications against the renaming have been received. The total number of supporters was less than 1300 till last evening. Despite spirited speeches and demonstrations by the pro-renaming groups, those in favour of changing the name to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are much less as compared to the opponents. Some supporters have announced that 30,000 postcards to support the renaming will be sent to the authorities. A similar scenario is seen about the renaming of Osmanabad to Dharashiv. About 20,000 objections have been received but the number of supporting applications could not be ascertained. It is believed to be just a couple of hundred. The renaming issue is becoming political and the final court verdict will determine the direction in which it will be exploited by either side. The state government had attempted to rename Aurangabad in 1996 but the court had issued an order to maintain the status quo.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is a very worried man these days. He feels he doesn’t enjoy the heft of being party president even after his election was duly ratified at the AICC Plenary Session in Raipur in February this year. He is at the receiving end mainly from those who belong to his home state Karnataka. They give him a short shrift most of the time as they keep him waiting even after fixing appointments. Partymen from his home state who seek time to meet him in Delhi do not show up at the appointed hour and it is left to Kharge’s office to find out why they have not turned up. Another major worry for the new party chief is that he is not able to get his way even in reshuffling the AICC. Party sources said he has not been able to get either his favourites like R S Surjewala as general secretary (organisation) or give more responsibilities to Pawan Khera. He finds he is getting stymied by the elephant in the room — Rahul Gandhi — who is not allowing him to move out a K C Venugopal or a high profile Jairam Ramesh.
The ICC World Cup is only a little over six months away and the first alarm bells have been heard by India after Australia trounced the Rohit Sharma led home team 2-1 in the three match series. This was Australia’s sixth ODI series win in India’s backyard since 1984 when Kim Hughes led Australia beat India 3-0, with two matches ending in a no result show. It was also India’s first ODI series defeat in India in 48 months. A nervous top and middle order came a cropper to left arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam, but the Hardik Pandya led side rallied to put it across the visitor in Mumbai. Pandya’s stock appears to have gone up after his bowling and batting display at Chennai’s Chepauk. Dropped from the Test team for the last two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, KL Rahul topped the batting average with 116 runs in three matches, but others did not reach the three figure aggregate. Apart from its powerlessness to deal with Starc, India’s new ball operators could not stop Mitchell Marsh’s “go after the bowling” approach and his 194 runs. It’s going to be a long drawn out World Cup in the October heat and a bit of cooler weather in November, but it looks as though India would like to look at itself as the underdog, not the favourite!
The uncertainty in Maharashtra is straining personal relations among political relationships. Every cursory visit or comment is viewed with suspicion and tends to create much speculation about the future political direction of every political leader. Visits by chief minister Eknath Shinde to the deputy chairperson of legislative council Neelam Gorhe raised eyebrows forcing her to clarify her position stating that “Even earlier chief ministers would visit and confer with the presiding officers of the legislative council or assembly for official purposes. Be it our earlier chief ministers Uddhav Thackeray or Devendra Fadnavis who would confer with the then speaker Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar. Our earlier speaker Shivajirao Deshmukh also received chief ministers regularly over official matters. These are routine procedures and should not be viewed beyond that.” Gorhe has her loyalties with the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, whose 16 legislators are being wooed by the Eknath Shinde-led Sena that enjoys the support of over 40 legislators. Though Maharashtra has a history of political leaders maintaining civil relations beyond party lines, this political culture of civility is now clearly under strain in the new political atmosphere. Former chief ministers Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Devendra Fadnavis’ warm greeting when they happened to enter the assembly together by chance, also created much flutter.
The Congress party launched a nationwide campaign over a Surat court order that sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a criminal defamation case for his remark on the “Modi surname” while addressing a poll rally in 2019 in Karnataka. Based on a complaint filed by Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi, Congress leaders have begun to privately admit that the latest legal development could prove to be a blessing. Many party leaders feel the Surat order could at least help Rahul Gandhi win sympathy among people if he fails to secure any relief in the higher court. Party veterans feel the Surat case could help in boosting the Wayanad MP’s image. For a change he may appear like a victim and probably help his sagging career take off. “Just as Marxist veteran Jyoti Babu had helped in building up Mamata Banerjee by targeting her. Or for that matter the Congress had helped in building Narendra Modi’s image by attacking him, I guess PM Modi is also helping Rahulji via this Surat order,” said a Congress veteran from Bengal. Apparently, BJP leaders are not happy with the latest legal twist. Aware that the Surat order could give the Congress leader an advantage, the BJP has mobilised support of the OBC “Teli” community against Rahul’s remark.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken the lead to create a new Regional Party front sans Congress to give a tough fight to BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Taking a cue from her previous slogan of “Khela Hobe” (There Will Be A Game), Didi has sounded 2024 poll bugle with her new slogan “Abar khela hobey (We Will Play Again). Recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav came calling to Kolkata and has expressed his party’s whole-hearted support to whatever Didi does for a BJP-mukt India. Taking the regional pact a step forward, Mamata visited Odisha to meet her counterpart Naveen Patnaik. She will host former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy at her residence. It is learnt that the TMC supremo will be staging a sit-in dharna near Ambedkar Murti in Kolkata from March 29 till the night of March 30. This is against the pending dues of the state and excesses by the central agencies. According to political observers, instead of calling for a Third Front, Mamata has floated the idea of Regional Front as there are around 200-250 Lok Sabha seats where powerful regional parties are in direct contest with the BJP. TMC insiders say that Mamata is critical about Congress stating that “PM Modi cannot be dislodged if Rahul remains the leader of the Opposition because Rahul is Modi’s biggest TRP and the saffron camp uses the Congress scion for their own good”.
Even as the Congress MPs are stalling the Parliament and pushing for a JPC into Hindenburg report on Adani companies, the Congress leadership itself is quite divided on the issue as it doesn’t seem to strike a chord with the general public. In fact, a section of leaders close to Rahul Gandhi is coming around to the view that only those in the stock market may be interested in the Adani issue and the rest of the public may not be concerned with stock price manipulations. It is also felt that after a series of developments following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S., the Congress could be simply flogging a dead horse in India. Party sources also point out that Rahul’s London trip was a big hit as huge crowds had turned up to hear him because of Bharat Jodo Yatra. Everyone wanted to watch and hear the new Gandhi. At the same time what has foxed Congressmen, how did the government come to know of what exactly Rahul had spoken at Cambridge? Wasn’t it supposed to be in-camera? Congress leaders close to Rahul were flummoxed that the BJP was making such an issue of Rahul’s speech in the UK. Looks like TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was perhaps right when she said the BJP was keen on making Rahul Gandhi a hero for PM Modi’s “TRP”.
The embattled Adani Group has been provided with much-needed relief by the Maharashtra government, which has strongly defended its decision to entrust the Dharavi redevelopment project to the giant. Disregarding a demand to drive the conglomerate away in view of the clouds hovering over it due to the Hindenburg disclosures, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis made this clear in the state assembly. Dharavi’s Congress MLA and former minister Varsha Gaikwad had demanded that the project should be handed over to some other reputed firm by taking it away from Adani. Maintaining that the group had won the bid in open competition, Fadnavis said unless Adani Group fulfilled all the legal and financial formalities, the government would not issue it with a letter of intent (LoI). If financial institutions were satisfied with Adani’s status, they would extend the funding. In such a situation, there was no reason for the government to intervene. Former finance minister Jayant Patil reminded the government that Adani had recently withdrawn from a huge power project buyout in Central India and asked what was the timeline for completion of the project?. It will be completed within seven years, Fadnavis assured him. The project was originally conceived nearly three decades ago. Redeveloped Dharavi will absorb the overflow into the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and add billions to the government’s coffer.
The Sagardighi bypoll results which went in Congress favour seems to have jolted the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. To keep anti-incumbency at bay during the General Elections in 2024, Didi quickly called for a meeting of senior party leaders and categorically told them that TMC lost Sagardighi seat not because of minority vote bank shift but because of the party’s “internal weakness”. To keep the minority vote bank intact, Mamata has rejigged the party’s minority cell by appointing youth leader and MLA Mosaraf Hossain as the new president. The incumbent president MLA Haji Nurul Islam has been elevated as chairman. It may be recalled that Didi had formed a five-member committee headed by Bengali-speaking muslim leader and ex-president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind within the TMC and a legislator Siddiqullah Chowdhury to prepare a report on the bypoll loss. Now, Chowdhury has been given the responsibility of three minority-dominated districts — Malda, Murshidabad and South Dinajpur. Interestingly, Didi’s close aide and state cabinet minister Firhad Hakim, who is an Urdu-speaking muslim, seems to have been sidelined by taking away his responsibility for the districts of Murshidabad, Howrah and Hooghly. For the panchayat election TMC has aligned with Jamiat, a grassroot organization. Many senior leaders and state cabinet ministers have been given additional responsibilities thus bringing back Mamata’s old guard rule replacing her nephew and second in command of the party Abhishek’s youth policy.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
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Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
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