In a major gaffe, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was caught reading last year’s budget in the state assembly for nearly 10 minutes. It was only when the party chief whip stepped in that Gehlot stopped and apologised for the oversight. The BJP was quick to slam him for being callous and “poorly invested in matters of governance”. For a change, BJP leader and former CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who has been bailing out Gehlot in the past four years, refused to hold a brief for him. She said, “When I used to present the Budget, I used to check my papers at least thrice before presenting it. Here the CM went on reading for eight minutes.” Gehlot’s gaffe is more or less a throwback to what happened with veteran leader S M Krishna who as Foreign Minister had read out portions of Portuguese Foreign Minister’s speech at the UN Security Council way back in February 2011. Coming to Gehlot’s defence, senior AICC functionary Rajiv Shukla tried to shift the blame to officials. He also tried to  point out there were discrepancies in the two sets of figures given by the PM regarding households connected by tap water –“in  the Lok Sabha PM Modi had talked about 8 crore households, in the Rajya Sabha the figures were given as 11 crore households. We are not making an issue.”

Union home minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Pune on February 18-19, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third visit to Maharashtra on Friday (Feb 10). Shah’s visit assumes significance in view of the two assembly byelections to be held on February 27, in Pune’s Kasba Peth and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Demise of both BJP MLAs has caused the byelection. While the Pimpri-Chinchwad assembly constituency had just one claimant, the wife of deceased MLA Laxman Jagtap, the scenario in Kasba Peth was somewhat testing for the BJP as sitting MLA Mutka Tilak’s family members were desirous of getting the party nomination after her death. As the party did not do so, rumblings of discontent were heard for a short while. Sensing the opportunity, Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has fielded Congress nominee Ravindra Dhangekar. The visit of Shah is expected to enthuse the rank and file to ensure the victory of BJP’s Hemant Rasane. Shah has accepted two functions in Pune. In the first, he will release a book, ‘Modi@20,’ on February 18. He will tour the ‘Shiv Srushti,’ a historical complex conceived and designed by late historian Babasaheb Purandare on February 19, the great day for Maharashtra since it is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shah’s presence will add colour to the BJP celebrations.

Ever since CV Ananda Bose took charge as West Bengal Governor in November 2022 he has been all praises for chief minister Mamata Banerjee and shares cordial ties with her unlike his predecessor and now Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar. But this has not gone well with BJP Bengal leaders. It was visible in a series of events.  First, during ‘Hatey Khori’ (first writing), a ceremony observed during the Saraswati Puja in the presence of Didi BJP leaders gave the event a miss. More. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari tweeted, “Doesn’t glorify the dignity of Raj Bhavan”. In another instance, when Bose praised and compared the CM to erudites and Presidents of India Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, APJ Abdul Kalam at a function where she received an honorary Doctor of Literature from Kolkata’s St Xavier’s University. Again, Adhikari reacted saying that the Governor’s speech resembled a rehearsal for the customary speech to be read out at the beginning of the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly. Surprisingly, despite the governor being appointed by the Centre, the state BJP leaders staged a walkout on February 8, during the Governor’s maiden address in the State Assembly, raising slogans and tearing papers as they protested against “corruption” by the ruling TMC. Why?

Its financials have been strong all the while. Yet, this over 100-year-old private bank has consistently hit the headlines for all wrong reasons. After many twists and turns caused by internecine quarrels among promoter groups belonging to the Nadar community, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) finally made its maiden foray into the capital market on September 5 last year. A new Managing Director S Krishnan took over the bank a day prior to its IPO. Krishnan has his job cut out. Having come out with good Q3 numbers – first quarter results since it went public in September last, Krishnan is on a mission to take TMB pan-India and make it a much more efficient bank to compete effectively with its peers in the industry. He is now toying with the idea of going for a business process re-engineering (BPR). TMB is looking to engage the services of an external consultant to come out with a detailed report on BPR, and recommend solutions for the bank on the way forward. The BPR initiative is intended to bring about a rethinking in the way TMB does its work. The objective is simple: to improve customer service, cut operational cost and become efficient. The BPR could focus on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within the organisation. It’s transition time at TMB!

Long after the final ball will be bowled in this series, the one delivery that sealed the Australians fate will be remembered for long. Two of Australia’s finest batsmen of today were together and making a match of it when Ravindra Jadeja, on a comeback trail, gave that delivery a little more air. On the cusp of a landmark, Marnus Labuschagne could not resist the temptation, overbalanced in failing to connect his intended drive to the ball that turned teasingly past the bat and the debutant keeper grabbed the chance to whip the bails off in a flash. Jadeja is no Bishen Bedi but he is a clever bowler who knows that he is not a big spinner of the ball to bowl too much beyond the wicket to wicket line. He keeps it on the spot at a brisk pace and with variations like the straight ball and the arm ball together present quite a challenge for visiting batsmen in Indian conditions. He may have won the series for India already with that ball beating Labuschagne and then sealing it with the splendidly directed arm ball that went through Steve Smith’s gate. He dismantled the Aussie challenge in those two deliveries, but it was the first one that broke the camel’s back. If this series looks over already, it is all down to Jadeja’s cleverness. Give him credit for it.

PM Narendra Modi was in his element as he spoke for nearly 90-minute in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on President’s address. He did not let the din of shouting Opposition MPs affect him and spoke with his sense of humour intact. Referring to how some people had problems with names of government schemes with Sanskrit words, Modi said 600 government schemes were in the Gandhi-Nehru family’s name. In a jibe at the Gandhis, he asked “If Nehru was such a great person, why did the family shy away from using ‘Nehru’ surname.” He was more keen on sending out a message to poll-bound Tripura where the CPM has tied-up with the Congress to take on the ruling BJP in next week’s elections. That’s why he elaborated on the contradictions of the Congress-CPM alliance and pointed out how the first Marxist government in India was dismissed by Nehru within months after it had won a mandate in Kerala. “Elected governments were toppled 90 times! Who were those who did that? A Prime Minister used Article 356, 50 times and that name is Indira Gandhi. In Kerala, the Communist government was elected which wasn’t liked by Pandit Nehru and was toppled in 1959. In Tamil Nadu too, governments of veterans like MGR and Karunanidhi were dismissed by the Congress. Sharad Pawar’s government was toppled too. We have seen what happened with NTR when he was in the U.S. for medical treatment; attempts were made to topple his government.

When Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s powerful leader Praful Patel were patting each other on the back for their various individual virtues, the political circle was agog with speculation, to the extent of forecasts hinting at Patel’s change of loyalty. Both leaders shared the dais at Gondia, Patel’s hometown, to laud his father Manoharbhai’s 117th birth anniversary. Incidentally, only a couple of days ago, Patel’s certain properties were seized by the Enforcement Directorate. Amidst various rapid political permutations and combinations churning Maharashtra politics, eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Fadnavis had accepted the invite to attend the gala event. The rumour mill received extra grist as the venue is the base of state Congress chief Nana Patole, a former BJP MP, who had defeated Patel in the hustings in 2014. Sensing the possible fallout, Patel said Fadnavis was gifted with exceptional leadership qualities and added that both held discussions on a variety of subjects. Reciprocating, Fadnavis said they were political adversaries, not personal. Patel has been elected from Bhandara-Gondia LS constituency several times and is presently a RS member. Considered to be NCP president Sharad Pawar’s closest confidant, the ED’s order to attach some of his prime real estate properties in Mumbai were being interpreted as a signal for Pawar. The Gondia meet is hence considered significant.

Leaders across parties – BJP, TMC, CPM, TIPRA — have converged at Tripura as it goes to poll on February 16. This North-Eastern state has come to prominence since its last election in 2018, after BJP ousted the 25-year old Communist regime. While BJP is desperate to hold on to the state, the CPM, keen to be back in the driver’s seat, has entered into an alliance with the Congress and Trinamool Congress. And the new entrant is the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha, a regional party floated by former royalty Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, after leaving the Congress. Interestingly he is going solo. Up for grabs is 60 seats. BJP is aware of its shortcomings as it failed to live up to voter’s expectations that accompanied its swift rise in 2018 winning 35 seats. So it did mid-course correction by replacing chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb with Manik Saha. With nine states slated to go to polls before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to win all the states. Towards this, its senior leaders like the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have trooped into Tripura and kicked off their election campaign. Likewise, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in tow with her nephew Abhishek Banerjee had camped for two days. The result of this four- cornered fight will be known on March 2.

Time was when Chennai airport was just workhorse functional, fliers comparing it to the glittering breathtaking Changi, and feeling second class. Frequent construction for cosmetic renovation was always knocking the fliers’ rush. Suddenly this not so glamorous poor cousin airport has emerged as an attractive, talked about airport. Parking bays, arrival and departure bays, all spruced up. But it is the mint new AeroHub adjoining the airport with an umbilical aero bridge that is now raved about. Even before the mall has come up, PVR cinemas have thrown open a razzle dazzle multiplex of 5 screens to showcase favourite films, all on the fly.  Delayed flights, overnight transfers, waiting for technical glitch to resume your flight will turn into a fun experience as you walk across the bridge, drink, dine and dawdle over the latest film. The foyer decor, seating for 1150 people, Dolby sound , reclining seats, ample legroom, crystal clear projection on 5 screens , with Audi2 and Audi4 offering luxe viewing will definitely take the pain out of flying . Not just fliers, but outsiders are also welcome to come, drop a load of money on the peripheral attractions. Tamilians may appear stodgy and serious…but finally what they present in terms of entertainment and deluxe experience reminds one of Rajini’s dialogues, ”Naan lateaa vandalum latestaa varuven “ (I may be late, but I am the latest).

In climbing the Mount Everest of professional basketball, LeBron James of the LA Lakers has recorded one of sport’s greatest achievements. Having overtaken Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s 38,387 points, the 38-year-old is now the pro sport’s highest ever scorer. While Jabbar had taken 1,560 games to build his career tally, LeBron made it in just over 1,400 appearances. Jabbar was on hand to celebrate the moment when the game between the LA Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder was stopped the moment the record was broken. “Breaking records is a benchmark of human progress”, Jabbar said graciously. Michael Jordan (32,292) holds the record for the most points (30.1) per game, LeBron is fifth on that all-time list. Marked for greatness early in his life, LeBron’s 38,390 could well go over 40,000 points before he calls it a day. He intends playing at least one game with his elder son Bronny before he hangs up his boots. LeBron has considerable achievements to his name in the books. He has won at least one NBA title for each of his three teams and been the NBA’s MVP four times. LeBron has received many accolades for his game skills and his leadership qualities. One of his teammates in Cavaliers captured it best when he said – “It’s not just his body. It’s not just his process. It’s not just his intention. It’s his brain.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in full form and at his sarcastic best as he took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for targeting his government on the Adani controversy as he spoke in the Lok Sabha. Rahul, who participated in the debate on January 7, was not present when Modi made his initial remarks. In fact, half way through the speech, the Congress benches had staged walk-out as Modi amplified attack on UPA years of governance. Congress MPs trooped back only when Rahul Gandhi walked in. “I was watching yesterday. After the speeches of a few people, some people were happily saying, “Ye hui na baat.” Maybe they slept well and couldn’t wake up (on time),” said PM Modi. Interestingly, Modi interrupted his speech to thank Shashi Tharoor for staying back and not joining the walk-out.”Those who are drunk in arrogance and think that only they have the knowledge, feel that only by abusing Modi will a way come out, that only through false, nonsensical mudslinging on Modi will a path be paved. It has been 22 years, they still have a misapprehension.” Asserting that trust in Modi was not born out of newspaper headlines, not through faces on TV.  “I have given my life, every moment of mine for the people of the country, for the glorious future of the country,” said Modi. He was under no compulsion to reply to Rahul’s specific charge of Modi-Adani linkages as he did not back it with proof. They are no longer part of Lok Sabha records.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who replied to the motion of thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha was spotted in the Parliament in a sky-blue Bandhgala jacket giving a message about sustainability. The jacket, presented to him by Indian Oil Corporation, was made out of recycled PET bottles. Indian Oil has adopted uniforms for retail customer attendants and LPG delivery personnel made from recycled polyester (rPET) and cotton. Interestingly, Modi sat through Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s speech in the Rajya Sabha where he questioned how wealth of one of the closest friends of PM Modi increased by 13 times in 2.5 years. “In 2014, it was Rs 50,000 crore while in 2019 it became Rs 1 lakh crore. I don’t know what magic happened that his assets touched Rs 12 lakh crore in just two years,” Kharge said. Ironically Kharge, who attacked Modi for helping industrialist Gautam Adani was spotted wearing a Louis Vuitton scarf. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep  Dhankar pulled up  Kharge for calling PM Modi ‘Mauni Baba’ an angry Kharge hit back  saying “If I speak the truth, is it anti-national? I’m not anti-national. I’m more patriotic than anyone here. I’m a ‘bhoomi-putra”. It took FM Nirmala Sitharaman to effectively put down Kharge for quoting Vajpayee on rajdharma or reeling out data as it was completely infused with insinuation against PM Modi and “that’s why what we are objecting to.”

Maharashtra Congress legislative party (CLP) leader Balasaheb Thorat’s purported ‘resignation’ from the post has become mysterious since he himself has made an about turn, saying that it was just a letter written to the high command to express his ‘anguish’ and not his resignation. While Thorat has been receiving open and tacit invites from the BJP and the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) to join, his sudden volte face has unnerved his supporters who don’t understand what stand to take. Similarly, his detractors are flummoxed due to the same reason, unable to welcome him or condemn. The confusion was kicked off by state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who declared that his party would welcome Thorat into its fold. Some NCP leaders, too, are reportedly wooing him in view of his clout in the sugar-rich Ahmednagar district. Thorat and his late father Bhausaheb have been representing the assembly constituency for over half a century. While Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole was projected as the villain of the episode involving Thorat’s ‘resignation’ all this while, the new revelation has created a question mark about Thorat’s next move. His nephew Satyajeet Tambe’s legislative council election win last week is viewed against this background since Congress leaders have blamed Thorat for the defeat of the official Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate in that contest. Hence, most Congress leaders are tight lipped about the quick turn of events

Once upon a time in Bollywood it would have meant hara-kiri. Not anymore. At the peak of their career Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra got married. This seems to be the new trend in Bollywood. Most of the actors and actresses are not really working on their image post marriage; it is simply because the audience and the fans continue to follow and fantasise about their stars.  According to social media expert there is so much of them out in the public domain that fans are fine with marriage and even children (Kareena Kapoor). The mysticism of the stars of the earlier days used to generate curiosity and fans fanaticised about them and these worked in the favour of the actors those days. Then stars had to project a certain image – they are single. Age, marriage and children were taboo. Then popular heroes or heroines were not seen with their families in public function or filmy event.  For instance, both Juhi Chawla and Aamir Khan hid their marriage. But times have changed; Bollywood topguns have got married – Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, Ranbir Kapoor-Aliya Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal-Katrina Kaif. Those in the trade feel that it is only working in favour of the married celebrities as they get more opportunities for endorsements, ground events and even films and other projects.

It’s the ‘Hand’ versus ‘Two Leaves’ in Erode East finally. The call given by the State BJP for a united fight against the ruling DMK to defeat the Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan was heeded, thus ending a protracted faction fight within the AIADMK. The OPS candidate withdrew, so too did TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK candidate. It is now a straight fight in the bypoll which may show how popular the DMK alliance is and whether the people have forgiven or forgotten the faction fight and are willing to support Edappadi Palaniswami’s ‘majority’ AIADMK candidate Thenarusu. Getting the party symbol of ‘Two Leaves’ was a big thing as none of the players who are opposing the ruling party DMK wanted the legal tangle to stretch so much as to make the ECI freeze the symbol. The ruling party’s front may be strong enough to win the seat with a good margin as those in power generally do. But it is important that for the sake of electoral democracy that a united opposition take on the government of the day. There may be no anti-incumbency feeling yet after a couple of years of Stalin rule and there are doubts about the intentions of the faction leaders who have all withdrawn their candidates but may still not get in the fray to support the common candidate. The challenge for EPS, who has majority support within his party, is now to prove he is the undisputed leader.

After stalling Parliament for a few days over the Adani controversy, the Congress finally got back to work on January 7. Rahul Gandhi took the Lok Sabha floor to make allegations linking PM Modi to billionaire Gautam Adani, perhaps hoping he would be spared legal consequences. An MP enjoys the privilege to speak freely and what is spoken inside the House is not liable for any scrutiny. Oddly, Rahul’s speech did not evoke much response by way of cheering or thumping of desks even from Opposition benches as states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have projects that are being executed by the Adani Group. But then so do Congress ruled states like Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. He wanted to know how Adani’s net worth had increased from $ 8 bn to $140 bn between 2014 and 2022; how the businessman had gone from 600th to second rank when the BJP came to power in 2014. He wanted to know from Modi “How many times did Adaniji join you later on your foreign trip? How many times has he reached you after you landed in a foreign country?”. He also asked how much money Adani gave to the BJP in the last 20 years. He seemed most upset that GVK-GMR, who controlled airports under the UPA era, were forced out using agencies like ED and I-T. Six airports including the Mumbai airports were” handed over” to Adani after 2014.

Shiv Sena (U) party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya is likely to face his cousin Nihar in the next assembly election from Worli in Mumbai if plans of chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Sena faction materialise. A practising lawyer, Nihar is the son of Uddhav’s eldest brother Bindumadhav, who died young in 1996 in a road accident. Aaditya has been on the offensive over the past few days, challenging Shinde to contest against him any time. “Let us face each other in Worli or Thane. The choice will be yours,” Aaditya has said repeatedly. His Sena (U) followers are taunting the chief minister for being ‘scared of a 32-year young’ as Shinde has not reacted to the provocation. However, plans to persuade Nihar to jump into the fray are now under discussion. Nihar was the first member of the family of Balasaheb Thackeray to support Shinde. He had said, “Shinde is the true representative of Balasaheb’s ideology.” The association became firmer when Nihar became part of the legal panel representing the Shinde faction in the Supreme Court and the Election Commission. As Uddhav is a member of the upper house, Aaditya’s Worli assembly constituency will become one of the most prestigious electoral contests in Maharashtra. The fight will become national news if two Thackerays take on each other.

The team that has immortalised the Baggy Green cap is in India, and no wonder there is so much buzz around it because of the quality of the pitches (speculated though) that will be rolled out for the four Tests at Nagpur, New Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia needs to win one Test and India much more to proceed to the final of the ICC World Test Championship in London. Pitches in India in the past have been notoriously described as dubious, snake pits and what not. A few decades ago, Steve Waugh chose the mental disintegration strategy and labelled a Test series in India as the final frontier. He succeeded against most countries, but not in India. He lost 1-2 the famous series of 2001 when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman turned the Kolkata Test around on its head with a 376 run stand. India went on to win the Chepauk Test too. The present captain, Pat Cummins, who won the home Ashes series against England 4-0 and beat Pakistan in its backyard 1-0, is hoping to outwit India in India for the first time in nearly 19 years. Cummins has not lost a Test series, but he and Australia know that India will be a tough nut to crack at home. In the last four home Test series against Australia, India won 10 Tests as against Australia’s one win.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s reference to the learned section of society has been wrongly interpreted and it does not mean the Brahmin caste, the organisation has clarified. What Bhagwat had meant was ‘scholars,’ RSS has conveyed. Bhagwat was addressing a birth anniversary event of Sant Ravidas in Mumbai on February 5. He said the Sant had spent his life to accord dignity to work and not to caste. In the speech, Bhagwat had used the word ‘Pandit.’ Very soon, the speech report began making rounds of social media and the RSS had to ask news agency ANI to come out with a clarification as it had covered the event and reported it. At the same time, a statement has been issued by RSS leader Sunil Ambekar. Both have hastened to clarify that the meaning Bhagwat had in mind was ‘Vidvaan’ (scholar) and not Brahmins. Bhagwat’s ‘exact’ statement has been quoted by Ambekar as, “…Some Pandits speak of caste-based divides on (the) basis of Shastras, it’s a lie. It’s his exact statement…” Ambekar has emphasised.  The controversy has the backdrop of a whispering grievance that the RSS has been treating the Brahmin community unfairly although it was the anchor of the organisation in its fledgling years. In the Mumbai speech, Bhagwat had also said that we were misled by the caste superiority illusion which has to be discarded. These differences were exploited by others and outsiders ruled us, Bhagwat had observed.

Former Pakistani prime minister Pervez Musharraf’s death provoked a sharp exchange of words between the Congress and the BJP. He was a Pak general who was responsible for the Kargil war in 1999 that claimed so many lives and was responsible for the attack on India’s Parliament in 2001. Yet it didn’t stop Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from fondly recalling his annual meeting with Gen Musharraf at the UN and how he “found him smart, engaging and clear in his strategic thinking.” As a former MoS for external affairs Tharoor defended his praise of the Pak general saying he was raised in an India where “you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die”. A Congress leader eulogising a Pak General who attacked our country during Kargil War could not go unchallenged. That too after PM Modi had recently named 21 Andaman & Nicobar Islands after Param Vir Chakra awardees as recently as on January 23. At least two Union ministers —  Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajeev Chandrasekhar  took on Tharoor. Chandrasekhar hit out at Tharoor for finding peace in a person who “inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law”. Scindia wondered whether the Congress was on “a hath-se-hath mission” with the enemy? “An Indian ‘national’ party’s leader first casts doubts on our soldiers’ act of bravery in Pulwama. Then another one eulogises Musharraf who was responsible for the Kargil war.”    

India is a cricket-crazy country. The IPL (Indian Premier League), which followed immediately after M S Dhoni-led Men in Blue winning the World Cup in Mumbai, has now become one of the largest annual sporting events in the country. From this year we will have a women’s premier league as well.  The cricket mania is now really expanding. Industry body CII is now gearing up to hold Indian Corporate Cricket League (ICCL).  It is a national-level initiative of the industry body. This will be a pan-India exercise, done at the behest of the Sports Ministry.  It will happen across India in each state. At state-level, it will have a round-robin format. The Tennis Ball cricket will have T-10 matches at state-level in round-robin format. Post-qualifying round, it will take the T-20 format. The CII is reported to have commissioned the services of an event management organization, which will be entrusted with the job of providing end-to-end logistic and related support facilities for the conduct of the ICCL across the country. CII is hoping for a participation of 25 teams in each state in the round-robin level. If grapevine has to go by, the Union Sports Ministry is reportedly keen that this kind of a pan-India corporate initiative is spread to other sports such as kabbadi and the likes. Sports at long lost is given its importance. That’s a welcome sign, indeed.

BJP President J P Nadda held a gala wedding reception for his second son Harish in a Delhi stadium on February 5. It was held in such pomp and style that guests were simply overwhelmed, so were the hosts it seemed. From high profile dignitaries such as President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, Vice- President Jagdeep Dhankar, former President Ramnath Kovind, UP CM Yogi Adityanath to a swish set of foreign envoys to all BJP CMs, MLAs and MPs and the media – there were simply too many VVIPs guests. Unlike Arun Jaitley who would have normally held three to four receptions for comfort of his guests, Nadda went for an overkill — a mega one. Party sources said a record 25,000 invites were sent out. It was as if Nadda had decided to make most of the one-year extension he had secured in office. After all, PM Modi had reposed faith in him to lead the party for 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Never mind if his home turf Himachal was lost by less than 1% votes. Significantly, Modi spent about 40 minutes at the reception. Besides, there were far too many guests than invitees. And there were such long queues at food counters that many guests simply made a hurried exit as they didn’t want to be jostled as at least one dignitary did.

In a bid to match the Maharashtra government’s announcement to extend ‘cultural funding’ to the Marathi-speaking areas along the border with Karnataka, a provision of Rs 100 crore has been declared by Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai for the Border Area Development Authority. The BJP government in Karnataka is completing its five-year term this year and will be presenting its last budget on 10 February. In view of the ensuing election, Bommai has made the populist announcement. Although the tension prevailing over the border feud has subsided, Bommai’s counter-announcement could provide another provocation for the protagonists from the neighbouring states to take up cudgels again. He has stated that the amount would be provided for in the budget for expending in border areas for education, industry, infrastructure development and for promoting Kannada. Earlier, the Karnataka government had made a provision of Rs 25 crore for these areas. Maharashtra’s Marathi language minister Deepak Kesarkar had declared that financial provisions would be made by the state to create facilities for educational and cultural activities in the Marathi-speaking border areas.  Bommai’s announcement has come to counter this move, it is felt. The border dispute has been holding fire for several decades and is now before the Supreme Court. Both states have fielded top-notch attorneys to reinforce their claims. Though the situation has remained peaceful after initial skirmishes, the initiatives by both the states are considered potent.

Two days after she presented the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman opened up on how she felt about the media focusing more on her saree than on the Budget and didn’t know whether “to take it positively or negatively, I have no clue about it”. She wondered if a male FM presenting a budget “wearing a black colour suit or jacket” would be asked a similar kind of question. She was responding to an audience question on the sets of India TV’s Aap ki  Adalat. “Don’t look at my saree, hair or its colour, rather look at my budget,” she pleaded. At least three observations made in this interaction stand out. One is the FM’s reaction to Robert Vadra’s comment on the Adani issue. She wanted to know if he had come “clean” on the land that he acquired in Haryana and Rajasthan and was amazed at his “confidence” to offer comments on Adani.  On the Adani issue, she said “it is not a matter relating to the government, regulators are looking into it” and referred to state governments who had invited the industrialist to set up projects. “Modi Ji never does this. He always prefers open and transparent bidding through tenders. The Rajasthan government gave land for his project. The Communist government in Kerala invited him to carry on with the port project. If you (Left) don’t like him, jaa kar hata do ji“. She also made an important disclosure: in the Modi Government, “we don’t give instructions on phone to ED, I-T”.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar’s sensational disclosures about the victory of Congress rebel Satyajeet Tambe in the legislative council election for the Nashik graduate constituency and Uddhav Thackeray’s perceived failure to prevent the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra in June last year are likely to become a bone of contention within MVA. The revelations have angered Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole as Tambe defeated official MVA nominee Shubhangi Patil by a huge margin. Tambe had claimed that he had not received the required authorisation from the Congress in time and hence was forced to contest as an independent. Ajit had said that NCP president Sharad Pawar himself had advised his Congress counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge to field Tambe but things didn’t work out that way. Similarly, Ajit said that Sharad Pawar had alerted then chief minister Uddhav about the possible rift in the Shiv Sena but the latter had replied that he did not expect his MLAs to walk away from him. The dramatic change in Maharashtra occurred soon thereafter. So far Uddhav or the Sena (U) have kept mum about Ajit’s utterances. Patole has objected to both statements, saying that though the NCP was holding the home portfolio, the Uddhav government fell. The matters will be taken up in the next MVA meeting with the NCP, he announced.

Six months after her husband and former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh joined the BJP, Patiala Lok Sabha MP Preneet Kaur has been suspended and given a show-cause notice to explain why she should not be expelled from the party for indulging “in anti-party activities”. Explaining the action against Kaur, Disciplinary Action Committee member Tariq Anwar said the party was getting regular complaints from PCC president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring about Kaur for indulging in anti-party activities and the state unit has been pushing for disciplinary action against her. “Kaur was working for her husband and our Punjab unit wanted us to take action against her,” said Anwar. For the moment, the AICC decided to suspend Kaur and issue a show-cause notice to her to explain within three days as to why she should not be expelled. It seemed odd that the Congress should take punitive action against a Lok Sabha MP just a year ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Besides, the party’s number from Punjab will take a hit with the death of sitting Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in Bharat Jodo Yatra. Only last month, the party saw the exit of senior leader Manpreet Badal to the BJP.

The severe jolt received by the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis alliance in the legislative council election in Maharashtra has generated shocks on both sides as each has lost a prestigious seat or two from its assured traditional area of influence. The ruling alliance lost both Vidarbha seats, Nagpur and Amaravati, which the BJP had been holding for a long time. Similarly, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)lost the Raigad seat, which the BJP has won for the first time. The decision of Nashik seat victor Satyajeet Tambe about his future plans is yet to become public. Overall, the ruling alliance’s performance is considered dismal especially since deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is known to wield clout in Vidarbha area. The defeat of BJP’s Amaravati nominee Ranjit Patil, a confidant of Fadnavis, is intriguing since almost 6000 ballot papers bearing his name have been declared invalid in a battle he has lost by just over 3000 votes. The rules require that a voter has to indicate his or her first and subsequent preferences. As Patil’s was the only name marked, the votes were rejected. Rather than pleasing MVA, the outcome has sparked off a war of words within as Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has decided to admonish the NCP for some of its leaders’ remarks in connection with the election in Nashik.

Shubman Gill has been in good nick this season; he has collected plenty of runs, boosted by a maiden Test century in Bangladesh. He sustained his form in the home white ball series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand piling up 567 runs in six innings with big scores of 116 against Sri Lanka and 208 and 112 against New Zealand. The lean right-handed opener also showed his class with a lovely knock of 126 not out in the last Twenty20 match against New Zealand at Ahmedabad. In such great touch with the willow, executing splendid ground and aerial shots, Gill is virtually coercing the team management to pick him for the four Test series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India has to be on the positive side of the results in order to travel to the UK for the ICC World Test Championship title match in June. Gill is likely to be a walk into the XI because Shreyas Iyer needs time to mend his back ailment, but he will find the Australian bowling combination tough to deal with. He looked the part making 259 runs in three Tests of the 2020-21 series in Australia, but thereafter he did not set the home series against England on fire in early 2021. But with another one year of international cricket under his belt, he must be feeling a bit better before the litmus Test against Pat Cummins and company.

The heroes of the 90s are making a comeback in a big way. Ajay Devgn started the return trip to the box office with Drishyam 2 which grossed Rs 343 crore worldwide and is still running in cinemas. His arch-rival and Badshah of Bollywood has broken records with Pathaan’s worldwide collection crossing the Rs 600 crore mark and is still counting. Shah Rukh Khan who had a super flop like Zero is back with super dialogue hitting out at the newer stars who think they have replaced them. Pathaan’s popularity is affecting new releases. Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzaada was to release on February 10 but has now been postponed.  Does it signify solidarity? Though the makers say it is out of respect for SRK, it seems more out of concern for Kartik who has taken himself to be a ‘Shehzada’ of the industry. Likewise Salman Khan had a big flop in Antim is returning with Kisi Kaa Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan on Eid. Trade is saying it will open to about Rs 40 crore on day one. Akshay Kumar who had strings of flops has about 10 films in the pipeline. His film Selfie, a remake of the South film Driving Licence, looks interesting and could be a box office hit. Aamir Khan has taken a back seat as an actor and is now focusing on production and knowing the man he is definitely going to make a comeback in a big way.

The mysterious deaths of at least 23 elite Russians have sparked a global murder mystery. But no one seems too bothered as the war rages on in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin is busy threatening the world with nuclear weapons and spouting war rhetoric. What media investigators looking into the issue are asking is: how can so many billionaires with bodyguards and the best healthcare just drop dead? Many people are suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin is involved but they are too scared to come out in the open. The string of deaths started just before the Ukraine war while the manner of death has varied from strokes and suicide to freak accidents like falling off a speeding boat or a simple fall down the stairs have also cropped up. Oligarchs, aged between 37 and 73, have been disappearing, among whom have been military leaders, billionaire oil and gas oligarchs, top business executives and high-ranking public servants. The common thread is the deceased’s elite status in Russian society and the wealth they have amassed during their ascent to the top of their industries. Several were either closely tied to the Kremlin or outspoken opponents of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. An anonymous Wikipedia user created a page entitled “2022 Russian Mystery Deaths” which began a running count of the fatalities. Putin and his state are not averse to using violence and coercion. Meanwhile, the string of oligarch deaths is expected to continue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second Mumbai and third Maharashtra visit within 50 days is being planned to highlight the importance the BJP attaches to the city and the state in view of the elections scheduled in the near future. With this visit scheduled on February 10, Maharashtra will be the only state to boast four Vande Bharat trains, two of them just within the state. The other highlight of Modi’s upcoming visit will be the opening of the Dawoodi Bohra community’s Arabic Academy in Andheri East. The sect’s head, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, will be present on the occasion, a community official said. Modi’s acceptance to attend this event will endorse the BJP’s systematic efforts to reach out to various sections of the minority population. One Vande Bharat train that Modi will flag off will be on Mumbai-Solapur route, the other will link Mumbai with Shirdi on February 10. The Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat train will cover the 455 km distance within six and a half hours while the Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat train will traverse the 340 km distance in five and a half hours. Already, two Vande Bharat trains ply in Maharashtra. The first started running between Mumbai and Gandhinagar. The second, linking Nagpur and Bilaspur, was shown a green flag by Modi in December.

The Union Budget announcement to allocate Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project in poll-bound Karnataka seems to have completely upset the Congress, which instead of welcoming the allocation slammed the Centre for failing to allocate even a quarter of the total funds required to implement the project. Leader of the Opposition K Siddaramaiah said the project is estimated to cost around Rs 23,000 crore and the Centre has agreed to fund only around a quarter of the project. “Moreover, it hasn’t clarified whether the allocation was for a period of one year or five years.” While Siddaramiah appeared critical, Karnataka Congress leaders concede that the Centre’s move in the Budget for drought prone regions would have an impact on people living in the state’s drought-prone districts of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumkuru and Davangere and could influence poll outcome. Party sources feel Centre must have extended a helping hand only because of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s track record as Irrigation Minister; apparently he is also known to deliver results. A major lift irrigation scheme, the Upper Bhadra Project envisages lifting up to 17.40 thousand million cubic (TMC) of water in first stage from Tunga to Bhadra and lifting 29.90 TMC of water in second stage from Bhadra to Tunnel near Ajjampura, in Tungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin. In 2021, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry approved a national tag to the project with an estimated investment of Rs 16,125 crore.

Nirmala Sitharaman has evolved, over her terms as finance minister. From briefcase to Bahi Khata to a red covered tablet, her budgets too have traversed the gamut of potholed roads and paved runways. This year, presenting her McDonald’s (Burger, Nuggets, Fries and Cola) populist budget, she stunned Parliament in Red Avatar, the way of fire. Gracefully clad in a red handwoven ILKAL silk saree, made in her Rajya Sabha borough, Karnataka she must have made the women member’s envy her. Dharwad’s Aarathi Hiramath and artist Rukaiva Bandunavar were given just 10 days to create this heirloom for an anonymous client, and now the duo are drenched in praise. Was Sitharaman sending a message in her Durga Avatar? Was it a subliminal warning to that encircling cabal that her government saw red in all coincidental portends hitting her party, en masse? The tea leaf readers and talking heads are on overdrive… Sitharaman has raised the battle conch of Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra. The lady in red can give as good as she gets in power dressing.

By-election to the Kasba Peth assembly constituency in Pune is proving to be a potential battleground among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners while the BJP is yet to decide upon its candidate after the demise of its sitting MLA Mukta Tilak. The last date for filing of nominations is February 7. A traditional BJP stronghold, the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena (U) have claimed the right to contest, trying to junk the assertions made by the other MVA constituents. However, the two Congress parties are serious claimants as the Sena had always left this seat for the BJP under the two-party electoral adjustment. Sitting Pune BJP MP Girish Bapat had been winning the seat successively. It was won in 2019 by his party’s Mukta Tilak with a thumping margin. Her untimely demise has caused the by-election, which will be a major test of strength between the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis alliance and the MVA. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, too, has declared its intention to contest from Kasaba though it is not taken seriously. Internecine differences have surfaced over the probable candidature as each MVA party has at least half a dozen hopefuls. On the other hand, the BJP also is treading cautiously since it is determined to repeat its victory in the constituency. It will face a tough task to endorse a candidate, party leaders admit.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi sending out a clear message on the need of wooing the minorities, a new buzz in Bengal BJP is reaching out to the muslims since the community comprises nearly 30% of total voters and BJP must reach out to them to garner votes ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha election. Out of 294 Assembly seats in Bengal, 125 are muslim-dominated and Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 90  of those seats in the 2021 Assembly poll taking her party tally to 213. However, incidents like Leftist student leader Anis Khan’s death and the arrest of Indian Secular Front MLA, Naushad Siddique, the scion of Furfura Sharif in South 24 Parganas, one of the muslim dominated districts have raised questions against TMC. Interestingly, besides Congress and CPI(M), BJP too led movements against the arrest of the minority MLA.  Minority Cell chairman Charle’s Nandi has recently stated that muslims in Didi’s tenure are the “most poor and backward”. Sources in the saffron camp said that a two-wheeler rally will be taken out in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies which are majorly dominated by Pasmanda muslims to sharpen its outreach among this socially backward muslims. Moreover, the state BJP which has a minority morcha cell, in the 41 of the 42 Parliamentary constituencies, held a residential training camp for its minority leaders and workers at Berhampore in the muslim-dominated Murshidabad district. Will all these efforts yield dividends? That’s the moot point.

Women’s cricket in India got a shot in the arm when its Under-19 team led by Shafali Verma beat its counterpart from England with clinical efficiency in the final to win the inaugural ICC Women’s Under-19 Twenty20 in South Africa. For long India’s senior women’s teams showed a lot of promise, but flopped in the ICC events. Now the pressure is on the team led by Harmanpreet Kaur to win the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in South Africa. The BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has announced a cash award of Rs 5 crore to the under-19 team. But there could be bigger rewards for the under-19 players when the auction is held for the inaugural Women’s Premier League that has a media rights worth Rs 951 crore and the five team owners have agreed to shell out Rs 4669.99 crore for the first 10 seasons. So the win by Shafali’s team could not have come at a better time than this. Not long ago there were doubts about the WPL getting quality Indian players, but it appears now that there will be decent numbers in the basket for the five franchise owners to pick from. The likes of opening batter Shweta Sehrawat, fast bowler Titas Sadhu, leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra, all-rounder Trisha Gongadi and left -arm spinner Mannat Kashyap, are likely to be in demand at the WPL auction.

This seems to be the global trend — banning the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic items like plates, cups, straws, trays and polystyrene. In India too it has been banned but some states like Maharashtra under pressure from the business fraternity have relaxed it. The latest news comes from New York. The extra but convenient plastic cutlery, chopsticks and sauce packets that restaurants throw in your takeout bag may soon disappear for good as New York City’s City Council has just passed a bill that would bar eateries and food delivery services from providing this accouterment unless specifically requested. Those businesses that keep including these items regularly, would be subject to civil penalties but warnings, instead of a monetary penalty, would be given for any violation occurring before July 1, 2024. The hope is to cut down on single-use plastic that can’t be recycled and ends up in landfills and take away the financial burden of purchasing these items from small businesses. Every year, more than 320 million tons of plastic are consumed globally, with 95% of plastic only used once and 14% for recycling. By arrangement with tfninternational.com.

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s confidant Anil Parab’s Bandra (East) office demolition on Tuesday (Jan 31) has set off a verbal slugfest, joined by independent MLA Ravi Rana. Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya had been pursuing the matter with Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in whose jurisdiction the office is located. Somaiya was prevented by the police from visiting the site. The political atmosphere in the state will become murkier as Somaiya has warned to intensify similar campaigns against former ministers Nawab Malik, Aslam Shaikh and Hasan Mushrif. Parab later led a Sena (U) morcha to MHADA offices to protest against the demolition which he himself had started the previous night. Taking on Somaiya at a Press meet, Parab asked him about his allegations against some leaders like Narayan Rane who subsequently joined the BJP and Somaiya’s silence thereafter. In retaliation, Ravi Rana said his residence in Mumbai was attempted to be dismantled by the BMC under Parab’s instigation. The vocal MLA challenged Parab to speak about a new residence of Uddhav Thackeray alleging that there was some FSI theft. A civic action against actress Kangana Ranaut’s apartment, too, came up.

Efforts to unite Opposition parties ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections may still be at a nascent stage. But then PM Narendra Modi is not the one to take solace from the fact that 15 Opposition parties of the 23 political parties had stayed away from the closing event of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar January 30. Or is he willing to take comfort from the fact that Telangana CM KCR’s Bharatiya Rashtriya Samiti efforts were restricted to inviting just four political parties in Khammam town  on January 18. That is why it was significant that President Droupadi Murmu’s first address to the joint session of the Parliament on January 31 had a message. It focussed on the kind of decisive mandate Modi government had received in May 2019 and how such a mandate had helped the country cope with many adverse situations in the last few years.  “I express my gratitude to the people of the country for electing a stable government for two consecutive terms… From surgical strike to a firm crackdown on terrorism, from a befitting response to every misadventure from LoC to LAC, from abrogation of Article 370 to Triple Talaq, my government has been recognized as a decisive government…India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest.”

Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan gave a big push for the reopening of closed single-screen theatres in Kolkata. At least nine such halls including Bijoli, Prachi and Orient were reopened after they closed down due to stiff competition from multiplexes. However, Bengali films, including Dev and Mithun Chakraborty’s ‘Projapoti’, and superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee’s ‘Kaberi Antardhan’, celebrated actress Rituparna Sengupta’s ‘Maayakumari’ which were running at the box-office had been unceremoniously brought down owing to Pathaan release. Single Theatre Distributors’ law which clearly states that the single theatre owners will have to screen all four shows if the film has to be played on a single screen. While a section of the single-theatre owners chose Pathaan over the Bengal movies, another section chose to stand by the regional films. Owner of iconic single theatre Priya Cinema, Arijit Dutta said that his decision was purely from a business point of view where Pathaan pre-release booking surpassed the box-office collection of Bengali movies. Generally, one show used to be allocated to Bengali movies in case of big banner Hindi films but now there are no shows. Superstar Dev cautioned that it will soon become a “black Friday or black Wednesday for Tollywood” on the release date of a big Hindi film. On the contrary, owner of renowned single-theatre Navina, Navin Choukhani continued with Dev’s Projapati instead of Pathaan, saying that it had been his conscious decision to stand by Tollywood.

Kashmir valley is witnessing heavy snowfall as a result all flights to and from Srinagar airport have been cancelled. Even the national highway has been shut. As per the latest reports, heavy snowfall has been witnessed across the valley while rain has been lashing the Jammu division. Reportedly, 5 inch snow had accumulated in Srinagar city till Monday morning, whereas other popular tourist places, like Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam received more than 1-3 ft of fresh snowfall. Realising the problems faced by tourists, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has amended its Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) rules on facilities to be provided by airlines to passengers due to cancellation of flights, denied boarding, and delays in flights. It added that the amendment will allow passengers, who are downgraded involuntarily and are carried in a class lower than that for which the ticket he purchased, to get reimbursements online. The DGCA proposed that airlines need to refund the full value of such tickets, including taxes, and that the said passenger will be flown free of cost in the next available class.  The reimbursement will differ between 30-75% in case of international ticket downgrade. By arrangement with tfninternational.com.

Self-proclaimed holiness Bageshwar Dham Baba Dhirendra Shastri has provided a hefty stick to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra to kick the ruling BJP by making a ridiculous statement about Sant Tukaram, revered throughout the country for his egalitarian Bhakti philosophy. The spiritual-religious issue has turned political as all major parties have joined the chorus to embarrass Hindutva outfits. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have come down heavily against the BJP while the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) has asked some stinging questions to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to Baba’s utterances shown in a video clip that has gone viral, he has said,“Sant Tukaram’s wife used to beat him up daily. When asked, the Sant replied that had he been married to a loving wife, he would not have loved God. This wife was giving him that opportunity.” Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has demanded immediate action against Bageshwar for the comment while Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant has alleged that this is a BJP conspiracy to demean Maharashtra’s icons. Its object is to banish reformist thinking and re-establish Manu’s tenets. If people don’t wake up in time, they will be chained forever, he has warned. Sena (U) firebrand speaker Sushma Andhare has challenged Fadnavis to take action against the controversial god-man. “While Bageshwar is insulting our topmost saints, why are followers of Mohan Bhagwat silent,” she has asked.

On the lines of what most political parties in Tamil Nadu do, the BJP too may soon have its own TV channel to carry its message to the people. Yes, Janam Tamil Television, a new Tamil news channel with close links to BJP-RSS is being launched in April. The channel will be along the lines of its counterpart in Malayalam and will coincide with the start of TN BJP chief K Annamalai’s state-wide yatra from Tiruchendur in April .“Our goal is very clear: we should keep our individual agendas aside when it comes to the national agenda. We work predominantly with people and professionals who believe in ‘Nation First’,” says U S Krishnakumar, MD, Janam TV Malayalam. “Our Malayalam channel was able to make a remarkable change in the attitudes of TV channels and the public, which was evident during the Sabarimala season,” he added. In a statement, the promoters said the channel promises to work with “truthfulness to Tamil people”, and that standing by the truth in an unbiased manner was their motto. They further said that they aimed to deliver news in a balanced manner, and without political bias. S Narendran, director of Janam Tamil Television, said that the channel was a necessary initiative in the state and would delve into nationalism as well as spirituality.

A social economic forum, this one was founded in 2017.  This triple B forum is headquartered in Mysore, it has 19 chapters and claims to have a membership of over a thousand spread across the Southern states of India. They operated under a trust model. The trust acts as ‘head and shoulder’ for all chapters. It is to assist, support and monitor their engagements. The trust is intended to bring under a common fold all brahmin business entrepreneurs. The objective is to mutually share and refer businesses among the members. The Forum for Business By Brahmins – BBB Trust is a community-based entity. This is not a business body by itself, though.  It will work for business promotion and otherwise wellness of each individual in each chapter and community at large. Growing together is the chosen mantra. The objective is to build a strong global platform which will create growth opportunities for businessmen in the community. Also, it is intended to work for the improvement of the quality of life of the people in the community The BBB Forum has three chapters in Chennai. Well, it is planning to host its two-day annual conference in Chennai on February 4. The conference is expected to facilitate information sharing, relationship building, business leads and the like. A unity mantra to grow, it appears.

The Shiv Sena (Uddhav) has attacked the Modi government for conferring the Padma Vibhushan honour posthumously on Samajwadi Party leader and former UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ‘who had massacred Kar Sevaks’ in Ayodhya. Lashing out at the Union government for forgetting to honour Hindutva icons Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Balasaheb Thackeray with posthumous Bharat Ratna laurels, Sena (U) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ has insinuated that the firing resorted to by the Mulayam Singh government killing Kar Sevaks had led to generating a wave of anger among the Hindus and finally politically benefitted the BJP in North India. “Is the honour bestowed upon Yadav for repaying this debt?” the edit has asked. Sena (U) MP and ‘Saamana’ Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said the government of Mulayam Singh had killed more than a hundred sadhus and sevaks, turning the Sarayu waters into a red pool. Afterwards, the Sangh Parivar outfits began calling him ‘Maulana Mulayam.’ They had also demanded to file murder charges against him. “The same Mulayam Singh has been selected for the second highest civil honour by a government claiming itself to be staunch Hindutvwadi,” Raut jeered. People should remember this lapse, he has advised in the edit. Raut alleged that honouring Mulayam and the late S M Krishna was a ploy to garner OBC and Vokkaliga votes, respectively, in the election

They say time flies. How true!  Today is our #SecondAnniversary. Two years back at the height of Covid-19 Pandemic when lockdown was the way of life we took a leap of faith and launched Short Post (Jan 28, 2021), the first-of-its-kind website in the country that focuses on Authentic Gossip. The Oxymoron is deliberate. Well, the response has been quite encouraging. That’s what has kept us going. Till date we have posted close to 2000 stories in the areas of Politics, Business, Entertainment and Sports. Each insightful story of around 225 words has been contributed by Senior Editors. There is a sense of satisfaction of creating a new segment in the market – authentic gossip — and in the process creating a brand (in a limited sense), creating demand (readers) and creating supply (writers). Well known advertisers — IDFC FIRST Bank, ICICI Lombard – supported us.  And that really boosted our confidence. Thank you! So here we are raring to go.  But, when I look at the media landscape the disruption is indeed fast and furious. Technology is playing a very big role in how content will be consumed. In the past, we have seen how social media has disrupted the media world. Now, everybody is saying the same thing about ChatGPT. It has reached 1 million users in five days. Its scorching pace of growth is indeed frightening and will disrupt the media industry big time. My limited argument is can it do investigative stories, write gossip items using the digital world ecosystem. Unlikely. Clearly, the original content has to be created first — only then can ChatGPT do the magic. That’s what we promise to do – focus on original content. Before I sign off, I am reminded of an old advertisement of the early sixties: “Avis is only No.2 in rent a cars. So we try harder”. Likewise I can say, we are two years old and we are trying even harder to be relevant to you readers.

Initially, Gujarat assembly results had a numbing effect on Congressmen in Karnataka. They were particularly worried by the impressive win posted by the BJP — a record 156 seats out of 182 seats. At that time Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had assured state leaders not to worry. He was confident that Modi could be paid back in his own coin in Karnataka. Yes, Kharge was confident he would be able to play the “asmita card “– pride in the son of the soil — that is to seek votes like the way Modi did in Gujarat. Yet, party sources had felt it would be a tall order for Kharge to pull off the asmita card considering he had failed to win the popular vote in 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga. And ever since PM Narendra Modi began his public outreach in northern Karnataka on January 19, the Congress hopes came crashing down. In fact, Congress leaders were stunned by the manner in which PM Modi handed the ‘Hakku Patra’ (land title deed) distribution drive for over 52,072 nomadic Lambani (Banjara) tribes in five districts in north Karnataka visiting Kalaburagi. Party sources say Kharge is now more worried about the fate of his son Priyank in the assembly polls after Modi’s outreach. Former CM Siddaramaiah even charged the ruling BJP “feasting on the meals” on the initiative of Thandas revenue villages started during his government from 2013 to 2018.

After a gap of nearly 10 years Bollywood’s super hit director Rajkumar Santoshi is on a comeback trail and that too with a vengeance. That was obvious at the various media interactions he has had. The 66-year old Santoshi, is in throes of controversy, over his latest movie Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh with a non-star cast film. The only star is AR Rahman who scores music for the film. Santoshi has been struggling to make Gandhi Godse for a long time but had no takers; even finance remained an issue. He managed to convince Rahman and that set the ball rolling. Rahman calls Santoshi courageous for making the film. Santoshi’s daughter Tanisha makes debut in the film which seemed unconventional for a celebrity kid. Santoshi has directed over 16 films and most of them have been big hit. His first film Ghayal in 1990 starring Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Seshadri was a runaway success. So too his film Damini whose dialogue “tarek pe tarek” became famous. He was besotted by Meenakshi Seshadri and wanted to marry her but she decided otherwise, packed her bags and settled down in the U.S.  Similarly, he seems to have had fallout with several people including Big B and Sunny Deol. With Sunny it was after Damini. But now they have patched up and will be making a film together titled Lahore 1947. So will the second innings of this maverick filmmaker better his first one?

There is a huge potential to increase bilateral investments between Japan and India, says Tomio Isogai, director of the Kansai Japan-India Cultural Society. Agreeing with the Japanese government-run Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on the crying need to increase the number of SMEs in India. Quoting JETRO India’s Chief Director General Takashi Suzuki, he says this is definitely necessary because small and medium enterprises (SMEs) here account for only one in five of the over 1400 Japanese companies that operate in India. The corresponding figure in China, ASEAN and Bangladesh is between 40% and 60%. This “abysmally low” presence of Japanese companies here, Suzuki has said, is “a very unique element” of the business relationship between the two countries. Indian companies in the fields of healthcare, elderly care and social care related services have major opportunities in Japan, while green hydrogen and the renewable energy sector also offer big scope. Isogai, a veteran in both Japan and India, spent 37 years in Japan’s Sharp Corporation and is a former managing director of the erstwhile Kalyani Sharp in Pune. He is currently a freelance advisor to the Hyderabad Management Association. Companies in both countries have already unveiled manufacturing plans, they point out.

Mumbai’s cricketing fortunes in recent times has been like a curate’s egg; while on the one hand the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has contributed to the national team, going back to from the heady days of Sunil Gavaskar’s achievements, on the other hand the cricketers representing the famous Lion Crest has not been able to maintain consistency in winning the Ranji Trophy, the symbol of supremacy in the broader context of India’s cricketing canvas. Last year it was outwitted by Madhya Pradesh in the final in Bengaluru, and on Friday (Jan 27), the MCA team marshalled by Ajinkya Rahane could not outsmart Maharashtra in the last group match, and as a consequence has been left by the wayside. Mumbai has won the Ranji Trophy 41 times, and those who have played a part in it have left a legacy to follow. The past teams played for pride. This season Mumbai did not have the class of 2009-10 and 2012-2013  when led by Ajit Agarkar and 2015-2016 when the team had champions and budding talents in Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad and Suryakumar Yadav. Mumbai has the exalted reputation as a champion side; and so, going seven years on the trot without the title will hurt the true blue Mumbai cricketer. From 2002-03 to 2015-16, Mumbai won the title seven times, it’s been barren thereafter!

From allowing the Governor to bury the hatchet to maintaining civil relations with the highest in the land while not allowing any of it to hamper his ideological tilt, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin is evolving into the smartest of chief ministers around the land. He was in a bit of a corner when the Governor called him on his mobile to invite him to the Republic Day tea party on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan and also sent an invite to his home through his principal secretary. Having decided to sip tea with the Governor, Stalin brought most of his Cabinet too as if to show political differences mean nothing when it comes to celebrating a national day. Cordiality in interactions with people across the political spectrum stops when it comes to electioneering, which is when he lets go at Narendra Modi & co. In kicking off the poll campaign for the Erode East constituency, Stalin blasted Modi for silently supporting Hindi imposition while mouthing Tiruvalluvar couplets every other day. Stalin is also encouraging the pursuit of aims like taking Tamil Nadu off NEET and even the impossible dream the Sethusamudram project appears to be. The fact that he knows he is in a stable condition with the people’s vote seems to have helped him quickly evolve into a statesmanlike figure who will, however, not give up ideological goals.