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There are two more Tests to go against New Zealand in the ongoing three-Test series, but like against England — which won the first Test in Hyderabad before losing in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamshala — the Rohit Sharma led home team will go to Pune 0-1 with a hope of causing a turnaround from the second Test. India has not lost a Test to New Zealand in 36 years and so the eight wicket defeat will hurt its players. New Zealand’s fast bowlers exposed the Indian batters’ vulnerability against speed and bounce on a pitch that was not really a deck for the fast bowlers. England chose rookie spinners left arm Tom Hartley and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir because of their height and skill and in Bengaluru — where India held a 3-0 record against New Zealand’s tall fast bowlers Tim Southee, Matt Henry and William O’ Rourke — brought down India to 46 in the first inning and took the last seven wickets in the second for a mere 54 runs. India has now lost one Test each to Australia, England and New Zealand at home in the last three years, it will be hard pressed to make the ICC World Test Championship final if it does not win the big points in Pune and Mumbai. Sharma made one mistake upon winning the toss and that was to bat. It has already cost India the first Test and if it does not show innovative ways to take wickets and some spunk while batting in the first inning, it may even face the prospect of going down in the series which will not be good augury travelling to Australia.
Not all is quiet in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) front, post its election defeat to BJP. Many within BJD put the blame on Naveen Patnaik for his blind faith reposed on his personal assistant VK Pandian, IAS officer from Tamil Nadu cadre. The man who was seen in every photo frame of Naveen Patnaik for over a decade now has gone off the grid post the election debacle. BJD insiders say though Pandian seems largely out of sight but he is not out of the picture. He continues to be Naveen babu’s eyes and ears and stealthily visits Naveen Nivas regularly. On his part, the former Odisha chief minister publicly acknowledged that “Pandian had served the state and party with utmost dedication, efficiency and integrity”. Sources say Pandian is like the late RK Dhawan, Indira Gandhi’s personal secretary, who knows too much and that perhaps explains why Patnaik continues to support him. Not surprisingly, his influence continued and led to more disgruntlement, dissensions and desertion within BJD. BJD’s former five time MP Prasanna Kumar Patasani who joined BJP says BJD has become a divided house because Pandian continues to guide BJD as he has Naveen babu’s protection. Patasani alleges that Pandian advised him not to raise the issue of conferring Bharat Ratna to Naveen’s father late Biju Patnaik in the Parliament earlier. Amidst all this finger pointing exercise many from BJD are crossing over to BJP.
For the first time in recent years, Tollywood has taken the Puja box office by storm in Bengal, outshining twin Bollywood releases. Three Bengali films — Srijit Mukherjee’s Tekka, starring and produced by superstar Dev, Shiboprasad Mukherjee-Nandita Roy’s Bahurupi, and Shastri, featuring veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and Deboshree Roy—hit theatres on October 8 as a Durga Puja bonanza, and audiences flocked to cinemas, setting a new trend in festive box office dominance. Despite earlier scepticism, due to controversies and online trolls targeting Tollywood actors following the RG Kar incident, the three films delivered big time helping the industry recover from a difficult first half. It has been a tradition of releasing Bengali films during Durga Puja but RG Kar protests forced directors and producers to cancel trailer launches and promotions back in August. This led to disappointing collections for films like Raj Chakraborty’s Babli and Srijit’s Mrinal Sen’s biopic Padatik. The only notable box office success during that period was Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta’s 50th film, Ajogyo which crossed Rs 1 crore at national multiplexes. Bahurupi earned over Rs 3 crore in six days. In four days, Tekka achieved over 450 housefull shows making it the highest-grossing Puja release to date of Rs 2.75 crore. Trade analysts expect Tekka to surpass last year’s Puja hit, Dawshom Awbotaar which earned Rs3 crore in 10 days. Meanwhile, Shastri earned over Rs 1 crore. Bollywood’s two major releases Alia Bhatt’s Jigra and Rajkummar Rao’s Vicky Vidya Ka Woo Wala Video earned Rs 2.5 crore each, significantly less than their Bengali counterparts.
If there is one formula for the success of its third term in Haryana that the BJP would most likely use in Maharashtra assembly polls, it would be having a very limited campaign of its star campaigner PM Modi. Unlike the previous strategy of carpet bombing the poll-bound states and Lok Sabha constituencies with Modi’s rallies in the run upto 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party has begun to restrict the number of Modi’s rallies from Haryana elections. Party sources indicate that PM Modi would not be addressing more than half a dozen rallies and at best such rallies would be spread across different regions in the state. BJP sources pointed out that the CM face for Mahayuti was more or less settled at the Chandigarh NDA CMs meeting when PM Modi asked Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to move the resolution lauding the return of the BJP in Haryana for a third term. Shinde was picked for the honour even as Devendra Fadnavis who represents the BJP in Maharashtra was present. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also attended the Chandigarh meeting. The NDA CMs conclave started immediately after the swearing-in ceremony of Nayab Singh Saini on October 17 in Chandigarh. There were 13 Chief Ministers and 16 deputy CMs belonging to the BJP and other NDA allies in attendance. Besides CMs of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, states like Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya had also put in their attendance.
This year’s biggest grosser Stree 2 has found its place in the numbers book as pure entertainment riding a spooky plot. This film’s highlight is Tamannaah Bhatia enticing fans with her Aaj ki Raat item number, bringing in repeat audiences just to see her dance. Her earlier film Jailor item number Noovu kaavalaa is still rocking the audience. Tamannaah has her place as a saleable star who raises no controversies, does her work and moves on. But she may not have realised the deep trouble she was getting into by signing on as Brand ambassador for the Mahadev HPZ Token App, which has now become a legal nightmare for its owner Saurabh Chandrakar. His App and role in the alleged illegal broadcast of the IPL competition has turned into a Rs 5000 crore lawsuit, with Viacom claiming Rs 100 crore loss. Tamannaah is alleged to be part of the promos and events and now the ED is determined to question all those connected with the scam. Travelling to Guwahati with her parents, the ravishing film star was subjected to 5 hours of questioning. It is not known how this captivating lady withstood the ED grilling (or how the ED faced her voltage). But her visit to the famous Mahashakti’s Tantric power temple of Kamakhya, dressed in a white kurta accompanied by her parents, made more news.
National media attention over the Haryana/J&K state assembly elections blindsided the rest of India from political goings on in neighbourhood Punjab. Fully fit CM Bhagwant Mann quietly reshuffled his cabinet of ministers stamping his authority in Punjab notwithstanding changing intra-party dynamics. Chetan Singh Jauramajra with nine portfolios to include Defense Services Welfare, Freedom Fighters, Horticulture, mining and geology, water resources, conservation of soil and water got the pink slip. AAP’s Jalandhar MLA Mohinder Singh Bhagat (who had left AAP for BJP pastures) secured ministership and first three of these portfolios. Another newly inducted Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal got the remaining departments and a place in Punjab’s council of ministers. Another big loser in the political stakes was Anmol Gagan Maan who held Hospitality, Investment Promotion, Labour, Tourism & Cultural Affairs till CM Mann replaced him with another biggie, Tarunpreet Singh Sond allocating to him Gagan Maan’s portfolios and department of industries and commerce as well. In addition to these Sond also takes charge of rural development and panchayat departments that another downsized minister Lalit Singh Bhullar held till September 23. Local Government and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Balkar Singh lost his portfolios but not cabinet rank and will administer the Jails department of Punjab. Ravjot Singh became minister and took over his erstwhile portfolios. Hardeep Singh Mundian is another big new ministerial find for CM Mann and takes charge of housing and urban development (CM held portfolios) along with revenue, rehabilitation and Disaster Management (held by Brahm Shankar Jimpa, who also got the axe. Harjot Singh Bains also found induction as the new Information and Public Relations minister in last month’s reshuffle. Was CM Mann pre-empting a coup? Only time will tell.
Are we driven to autopilot mode? Encircled by artificial intelligence and social networks, it appears that we are pushed into autopilot mode. What is the way out? Mumbai-based Dwarakanath Soundararajan, who promoted Neurosymfony Technologies Ltd, has hit upon a unique solution. A software engineer with deep expertise in web application development and Machine Learning, he has launched a web app that offers much-needed pause — a space for intentional reflection and cultivating a healthy information diet. He has launched www.sphatika.cloud, a structured spiritual journal and deep-thinking web app. It is designed to help one track his/her life’s goals based on yogic principles, specifically the pancha kosha theory, focusing primarily on the Vijnanamaya kosha — The Wisdom Sheath. The app also encourages cultivation of other koshas through spiritual practices. Designed for individuals seeking personal growth and self-awareness, the app serves both as a tool for structured reflection and a guide for pursuing life’s dreams. Its unique blend of spiritual principles and goal-oriented journaling makes it an ideal companion for those who value introspection while striving to achieve tangible results in their lives. Graduated with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas at San Antonio, Soundararajan is now focused on creating a social network for spiritual health management.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a lead over other major parties by declaring its first list of a hundred candidates for the coming Maharashtra assembly election. The party is expected to contest around 160 seats in the 288-member house. Even as the partners in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi have been haggling for their individual share of the seats, the BJP’s decision to come out with the first list is considered strategic. Already preparing for the election immediately after the Lok Sabha election was over, the party machinery is geared up to take on its adversaries. Significantly, the first list has few surprises as almost all the sitting MLAs have been asked to contest. The list is topped by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. A somewhat surprising nominee is state BJP president Chandrakant Bawankule, who has been accommodated in the legislative council after he was refused the assembly opportunity in 2019. He is considered a loyal follower of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. A few days ago, there were murmurs that Gadkari’s loyalists were being side lined. Following some such news reports, a meeting between Gadkari and Fadnavis took place. Bawankule’s selection to fight for the assembly is considered as an adjustment. While the BJP candidates have gone into an overdrive, the hopefuls in other parties are still groping in the dark about their future. Their fate will be declared latest by Monday (Oct 21) evening, it is felt.
It is reportedly the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic and aircraft movements in India. It is also the third busiest airport by international traffic. In 2023–24, it handled over 21 million passengers. Well, the Chennai International Airport is turning out to be hectic by the day. Handling such heavy traffic and facilitating customs processes prove a big challenge for the authorities. Well, the government is quite aware of this. The Ministry of Finance has decided to appoint approved valuers for assessing gold, silver, jewellery and precious stones at Chennai International Airport. It has already come out with a notification inviting nominations for a panel of valuers responsible for assaying and valuing precious items for both accompanied and unaccompanied passengers, as well as for issuing export certificates. The appointed valuers will also handle the valuation of seized or confiscated goods. One of the requirements for appointment is that they should be available at any time. Qualified assayers, valuers or jewellers affiliated with recognized associations are eligible for submitting applications. “The assayer/valuer is required to present himself /herself before any adjudicating authority / appellate authority/ courts to give the evidence/ produce the relevant records, as and when required,” it said. A valuable initiative, it appears!
In an interesting initiative, PM Modi has established a monitoring group chaired by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to focus on reviewing the implementation of various schemes announced by him, its budgetary provisions, subordinate legislation, and other critical infrastructure projects. The inaugural meeting of this newly formed group took place on October 18 at the PMO. The meeting saw participation from all secretaries to the GoI, including the Chairman of the Railway Board, who attended in a hybrid format. This group is set to convene monthly at the PMO in South Block. The group has been tasked to examine the announcements made by Modi and also assess projects for which the foundation stone has been laid by him. Besides, Chouhan will also communicate expectations of the PMO to relevant secretaries, especially if any project appears to be lagging or requires inter-ministerial support. Modi was reportedly worried about delays in the implementation of government schemes, highlighting these issues in closed-door meetings with secretaries and senior PMO officials. His proactive approach to governance suggests a commitment to ensuring that all government initiatives are executed in a timely and effective manner. The establishment of this monitoring group is widely interpreted as a response to these concerns. Involving Chouhan with more governance responsibilities also reveals that Modi has more plans for the BJP veteran from Madhya Pradesh than what the RSS envisions for him. The Sangh has been pitching for Chouhan who had a near record run of three plus terms as Madhya Pradesh CM as next BJP chief. With his involvement in both day-to-day administration and global affairs, Modi will surely have his say on who will head the BJP next.
Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray has urged his followers to gift him “not flowers, but new members” on Wednesday, 27 July. The former chief minister turns 62 two days from now. Uddhav’s emotional appeal has come in the face of a challenge to establish that the Shiv Sena he heads is the ‘true’ organization. The Election Commission is scheduled to consider his plea for recognizing his faction and reserve its election symbol, Bow & Arrow. The rival faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde has countered it. Both have been busy wooing the Sena workers to their side. Uddhav’s son Aaditya is on a whirlwind tour of the state to meet Sena workers face to face and ensure their backing. Shinde, too, has been meeting Sena workers from various parts of the state. Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadanvis were in New Delhi for two days, ostensibly to attend the swearing in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu. The duo is expected to announce the expansion of its team any moment now as part of its strategy to wean away Uddhav’s supporters. The EC will need signed affidavits from the rank and file belonging to both factions so as to evaluate their claims for recognition and the party’s election symbol
Hum kisi se kum nahin says the latest Sanmaan Patra awarded to superstar Rajinikanth by Income Tax Department for being the highest tax payer in Tamil Nadu. Akshay Kumar is the highest tax payer in Bollywood. Puducherry Governor Tamizhisai Sounderarajan did the honours on Income Tax day when daughter Aishwarya cooed, “Proud daughter of a high and prompt taxpayer”. Ever since the superstar withdrew from the political race, the legion of fans quietly melted, licking their wounds of disappointment. His last movie Annathe was eminently forgettable. His health was giving cause for concern. Son-in-law Dhanush and wife Aishwarya hit the headlines for an imminent divorce. Rajini, his closest circle, insisted would surely retire to the Himalayan cave where he found nirvana in the Babaji Ashram. These “occult “ soothsayers may not have divined the tough mettle of this man who had literally clawed his way from bus conductor to iconic superstar with a phenomenal fan base. His close friend, paradoxically his bête noire Kamal Haasan, a flop in politics, had seamlessly moved to the top spot with his comeback movie Vikram. The talking heads conjured up visions of a visibly overwhelmed Rajini rearing to make a film that would exceed Vikram’s success. Jailor was announced (directed by Nelson Dilipkumar with a brief, replicate Vikram’s success). Thalaiva is back in the news. Happy days are here again?
The free run that tech majors like Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, Amazon enjoyed in India will be a thing of the past. Already, they have come under pressure to take down content considered unlawful, inappropriate and disturbing public order. And if Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for IT and Electronics has his way, all of them will be paying Indian newspapers and digital news publishers a share of revenue for using original content. The move is being mooted through regulatory interventions, which is expected to happen as part of the revisions being made in the existing IT Laws. “The Indian news publishers have no negotiating leverage at all, and this needs to be tackled legislatively,” said Chandrasekhar in an interview. The market power on digital advertising that is currently being exercised by the Big Tech majors, has already put Indian media companies at a disadvantage. Several countries like Australia, France and Spain have passed rules that require Tech majors to compensate content producers for using their content and search results. It comes as no surprise that spear-heading the Indian initiative is Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a media honcho himself. Chandrasekhar owns two satellite channels, Asianet News and Suravana News and a clutch of digital news websites in South Indian languages. Incidentally, he was one of the founder-promoters of Republic TV, but sold his stake subsequently.
Congress leader Mohan Prakash has reportedly conveyed to the party high command that the defeat of party candidate Chandrakant Handore in the recently held legislative council election could have been caused owing to internal sabotage. Due precautions were taken for the Presidential election voting. The party is relieved that there was no cross voting in this election. While Handore lost the election from the legislative assembly constituency, another Congress nominee, Bhai Jagtap, was elected with many more votes than the number allotted by the party. Alarmed by the debacle, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had rushed Mohan Prakash, who is in-charge of the Maharashtra Congress affairs, to Mumbai. Prakash met all important Congress leaders after ascertaining the voting done by party MLAs. He was told by many of them that though Hanore’s vote quota was much higher than that of Jagtap, the latter polled more votes than allotted. Following the defeat, Handore called on Sonia. He was accompanied by Maharashtra Congress committee president Nana Patole. The high command has taken cognisance of the complaints against Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, according to party circles. The defeat was more humiliating since top Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge himself had come down to Mumbai to finalise the vote quota for both, Handore and Jagtap.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was at her usual self in launching a scathing attack on CPI(M) during her address at the Martyrs’ Day Rally in the heart of Kolkata on July 21. She not only referred to the alleged corruption during the Left Front regime but also threatened to rake up controversial files which would be a deviation from her slogan “Badla Noy Badol Chai” (No Revenge, But Change). Amid the row over irregularities in School Service Commission (SSC) appointments, Mamata slammed the CPI(M) by referring to the erstwhile government which always favoured and appointed the wives of CPI(M) party cadres as school teachers. She categorically named senior CPI(M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who has been contesting the TMC government over irregularities in SSC appointments for some time now. Is Mamata’s reference to the CPI(M) and Left Front a clear attempt to project CPI(M) as her principal opposition? Political observers believe that Mamata is clear about her opponents which remain Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. She doesn’t even take names of state BJP leaders instead she’s in cordial terms with veterans of CPI(M).Will CPI(M) take a cue from Mamata’s attack to rejuvenate the party and set forth Bhattacharya as the new face of the party?
Eyebrows were raised when Sanjay Leela Bhansali signed on yesteryear’s popular heroine Mumtaz for his web series Heera Mandi. It was her second comeback attempt. Close on the heels followed news that Sharmila Tagore will be seen in a OTT film Gulmohar. So too yesteryear’s cabaret sensation Helen in a web series produced by Abhinay Deo. And what a comeback it has been for Neetu Kapoor in Jug Jugg Jeeyo. There is one advantage of being in showbiz, you don’t retire at 60. You can go on and on like Dadamuni; even if you get a lifetime achievement award. Sadhana preferred playing cards at Otters Club, Bandra every day and kept out of arc light because her looks had changed. Asha Parekh by choice gave up acting. But not others. Many aging stars like Waheeda Rehman, Zeenat Aman have kept themselves in limelight by doing stray films or making guest appearances on reality shows. Among male stars Dharmendra will be seen in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and Apne 2. Jeetendra makes occasional appearances on reality shows but has kept away from the big screen. Raj Babbar and Shatrughan Sinha are part time actors and full time politicians. Mithun Chakraborty continues to work in films and judge reality shows. And one cannot forget Dev Anand who is a classic example of a star dying with his shoes on.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin is going all out to make the 44th Chess Olympiad an outstanding success. This mega event is to be hosted at the heritage town of Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), between July 28 and August 10. A stylised mascot Thambi has sprung up at many vantage points in Chennai. The historic Napier Bridge has been painted like a chess board and a teaser ad featuring Stalin and AR Rahman shot on it was released by the superstar Rajinikant. But, while doing all these publicity gigs the Stalin government seems to have conveniently forgotten to focus on their very own home grown heroes Viswanathan Anand, India’s greatest chess Grandmaster and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the new Grandmaster. Except for a “blink and you miss glimpse “, both were not highlighted in the publicity drive. Critics allege it was an intended snub for Brahmins. Stalin moved his pawn like a grandmaster when an opening presented. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him up to wish him speedy recovery when he was admitted to Kauvery Hospital for Covid treatment. Stalin quickly latched on to this bonanza door opener and requested Modi to inaugurate the Chess Olympiad, adding he would depute MP K Kanimozhi and TR Baalu to personally invite him. Perhaps, Stalin was trying to mend fences after DMK leader A Raja publicly threatened Modi that TN would secede if not granted more autonomy. But, will Modi inaugurate the Chess Olympiad? Wait and watch.
The decision of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which has 36 MPs — 23 Lok Sabha and 13 Rajya Sabha — to abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election on August 6 on the ground that the party was “not consulted” before Margaret Alva of the Congress was selected as the Opposition nominee seems like a very lame excuse for the Bengal party to move away from Opposition camp. Didi’s decision to boycott polls has upset 80-year old Alva who took the trouble to fight a losing election. The TMC cannot complain about lack of consultation though Sharad Pawar did mention efforts to reach Mamata had failed. But Congress President Sonia Gandhi did speak to Mamata canvassing for Alva. Yet it is not clear if Mamata has merely upped her ante over Alva because CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had a big role in it. Or has she taken a cue from regional parties like BJD and YSRCP? Is she also cosying up to the Centre like Naveen Patnaik and Jagan Mohan Reddy — both CMs of Odisha and Andhra — who back the BJP in Parliament and seem to be getting a lot of things done for their States. For a start, it is no coincidence that the Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai announced recently that the Centre has received West Bengal’s proposal to rename the state Bangla.
The ED’s attachment action against NCP leader Praful Patel’s property in Mumbai’s elite Worli area in an alleged money laundering case has led to apprehensions that similar steps can be initiated against some more opposition leaders. The property in which Patel has a sprawling residence is charged to be linked with deceased underworld don Iqbal Mirchi. Earlier, too, Patel had been summoned by ED in connection with the same property. It is not just a coincidence that the action against Patel was taking place in Mumbai when Congress president Sonia Gandhi was facing ED in New Delhi, NCP circles point out. It is an open secret that several leaders of different political parties reside in palatial properties in Mumbai. Fear is expressed that some of them could find themselves in the ED net sooner than later. Current political developments in Maharashtra have fuelled speculation that this is an attempt to pressurise them to align with the ruling dispensation or else face action. In the recent past, former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, former BJP minister Eknath Khadse and many others have been summoned by ED for questioning. Two NCP bigwigs, Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik, are in custody for a long time. Malik is also charged to be linked with underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim in a property deal in Mumbai.
After Sonia Gandhi left the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on July 20 at the end of three hours of questioning, the Congress went to town claiming that the investigating agency had nothing to ask her. The party claimed she had even offered to stay longer if needed but was sent away. It is another matter that Sonia has to make another trip to the ED office on July 25. Clearly, the Congress which unleashed violence and protests across the country to protest Sonia’s questioning in the National Herald case had become defensive by end of the day.That is because what the Congress did not disclose was that the ED officials had gone out of the way to be extremely courteous to Sonia; the agency also fulfilled some of her conditions. Since she was recovering from Covid infection, she wanted an infection-free environment. Apparently officials questioning her displayed their vaccine certificates. Ironically, no one knows if any of the Gandhis have taken the vaccine shots — at least none of them have been seen publicly endorsing India made vaccines. Sonia also wanted her daughter Priyanka to be reachable in case she needed medicines; ED agreed to this request. Also, ED officials questioning her ensured Sonia was comfortable. Sources say her basic questioning pertaining to the National Herald case is over.
Will ODI cricket go to the chopping block? Played over 60 overs a side, initially the 1970s’ new hit and style of play was frowned upon by the purists. Once the flannels gave way to coloured clothing at the 1992 World Cup in Australia, ODI cricket was given the notorious tagline ‘Pyjama cricket”. The new brand of cricket made Clive Lloyd’s West Indies “Kings of ODI cricket” after it won the 1975 and 1979 finals at Lord’s, and enabled Kapil’s Devils turn the cricket world upside down in 1983, but after 50 years ODI cricket that filled the coffers of the Cricket Boards with millions of dollars appears to have become a veritable humdrum. Rahul Dravid was the first to sound the alarm bells six years ago at the Dilip Sardesai Memorial Lecture. “I think ODI cricket without context will struggle. All other ODI cricket should be geared towards preparing for the World Cup and Champions Trophy. People can play lesser ODI cricket and focus more (other formats),” voiced Dravid that was more of a whimper at the packed CK Nayudu Hall, Cricket Club of India, Mumbai. In the last few days Dravid’s thoughts have been echoed by Ben Stokes who has retired from ODI cricket. All said and done ODI cricket gets the crowd going and brings a lot of money to the ICC, BCCI and other cricket boards.
The basic conservatism of Britain may kick in when it comes to the final contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for UK prime ministership. The PIO whose parents moved from East Africa to the UK was frontrunner for PM up to the moment Tory MPs were the electorate. Now that the polling moves on to 2 lakh primary members of the Tory Party, the odds shifted in favour of the Foreign Secretary to Boris Johnson who stood by her boss till the bitter end. Truss leapfrogged the Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt into the final head-to-head contest for PM. Even Rishi softened his approach to his rival in saying he respects his opponent as well as her proposals for tax cuts in his Op-Ed article in the Daily Telegraph of July 21. Rishi made it known that he is the successor to Margaret Thatcher and that he will bring the economy back to shape despite a 40-year inflation high beyond 9%. There are a dozen in-person hustings (debates) to be run before the votes are to be counted and the results declared on September 5. But the odds are that Liz Truss has already taken the lead among the party voters. Rishi’s background, his personal wealth and his rich wife’s non-domicile tax status may work against him in the final count.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a call to reject the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls. Addressing at the Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day) rally in the heart of Kolkata, Didi launched a scathing attack on the BJP stating that 2024 will not be a vote for election, but one for rejection of BJP for its monumental incompetence. Mamata made it clear that only her party has the spine to take on the BJP since her party is not afraid of ED, CBI and other Central agencies. Mamata said that in 2024, when the BJP fails to form a majority, the Opposition parties have to come together to set up the next government. According to political observers, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo had been trying to bring the Opposition parties together by organising a mega rally at Brigade Parade Ground but that attempt failed in 2019 general elections. Mamata stressed that in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, her party will win in West Bengal and other states such as Tripura, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh where it would be contesting. Significantly, the TMC chief remained tight-lipped about Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by the ED. However, party insiders say that Didi is focused on regaining the lost Lok Sabha seats, Opposition unity will therefore come later.
The government’s anthem Mera desh badal raha hai, Aage badh raha hai is also applicable to the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The 62-year iconic institution is going in for a major revamp. This move follows after I&B Minister Anurag Thakur had a closed door meeting with FTII chairman Shekhar Kapur. According to sources, FTII will become somewhat of a polytechnic school taking away the halo of film aesthetics and world film studies. The new effort essentially is to make it a digital multi-purpose market-driven media university without segregating film and TV sections. “I will not be surprised if it is renamed as Digital Art Institution of India,” commented a FTII professor sarcastically. With a view to generate more revenue, plans are to offer short-term courses like broadcast journalism, video games, dubbing and voicing, advertising, makeup, special effects and others. Critics says that the government by drawing outside talent — essentially IAS and IIS officers — may compromise with FTII’s core values and DNA, and it may not be able to produce great talents like Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Anupam Kher, Shyam Benegal. It is learnt that Shekhar Kapur is torn between students’ continued oppositions towards revamp and I&B pressures to remodel FTII. To do or not to do is Kapur’s dilemma.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik seems to be taking a leaf out of Tamil Nadu which has emerged as the chess hub. It took a long while but it is yielding dividends to TN as it is hosting the International Chess Olympiad, for the first time, between July 28 and August 10 at Mamallapuram. This event will attract 2,000 participants from 187 countries. Naveen knows this is an incredible opportunity for Tamil Nadu and India to get recognition for hosting these international chess events across the globe and showcasing not only its economy but also augment tourism, cultural understanding just as Odisha did by hosting the Hockey World cup recently. Keeping long term aspirations in mind, Naveen Babu has taken the first baby steps in scripting government’s investment support to popularise, promote and nurture chess games in schools and colleges in a planned manner. It is understood that Patnaik’s interest in promoting chess culture in Odisha is only the starting point. It will require a lot of planning, training, patience, infrastructure support for tournaments and feliciting chess players with monetary prizes just as Tamil Nadu did. Going by Patnaik’s track record this task too will be accomplished in double quick time.
After a gap of two years, Trinamool Congress is holding its Martyrs’ Day Rally in Kolkata on July 21 with the party chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee likely to raise her national pitch ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, and to lay out the big strategy of expanding TMC base outside West Bengal. This will be the first physical rally after Mamata’s historic hat-trick win in the State Assembly polls last year. Even though the senior party leaders including second-in-command of the party and Didi’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee remained tight-lipped, speculations are rife that some senior leaders from both BJP and Congress are likely to join the TMC. One-time aide of Mamata, Sovan Chatterjee and his associate Baishakhi Banerjee are likely to rejoin the party after a gap of almost four years. Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh who switched camps from TMC to BJP during 2019 Lok Sabha Polls was back in the party a couple of months ago. Now his son Pawan is likely to join the TMC. Besides them, three prominent Congress leaders of National ranks presumably from North South and North East States would also be present at the rally tomorrow. Interestingly, after catering to the northeast with the Tripura bypoll election and making public Mamata’s national ambition with the Goa election, large TV screens will be placed in Meghalaya and other north-eastern states for the audience to watch Mamata speak.
The Supreme Court’s decision to post the next hearing to 1 August concerning various petitions in regard to recent political developments in Maharashtra has shifted the focus to lawyers’ chambers from the floor of the legislative assembly. The apex court’s fiat has mounted a formidable legal challenge for both, Shiv Sena boss Uddhav Thackeray and state chief minister Eknath Shinde. As the court has asked them to furnish their claims supported by data, both sides are readying their defences. While the Sena’s legal team is led by Kapil Sibbal, eminent jurist Harish Salve is appearing for the Shinde faction. Although Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadanvis are maintaining a brave face, it is obvious that they will not take any hasty steps concerning major decisions. Fadanvis has clarified that there is no bar on expanding the two-member state cabinet. However, he and Shinde will be treading cautiously, lest they will need to repent later. The Shinde camp is jubilant as it has dealt one shock after another to Uddhav. The fact that so far 12 Sena Lok Sabha members have switched sides and a couple more are expected to join the bandwagon has boosted its morale. It will get a further fillip if NDA Presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu bags around 200 votes from the state, as predicted by Shinde.
Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister KN Nehru apparently has a passion to collect SUVs. Do not know if it has anything to do with his previous stint as Transport Minister in the state government. It is in this light, an automobile publication described him as the Indian politician who had not only managed to import the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser before it was launched in the country but had customised it and even started using it too. All of Nehru’s previous cars have been the Land Cruisers. This was the same Toyota Land Cruiser spotted earlier this year in Coimbatore. Toyota Kirloskar will announce the official prices of the all-new Land Cruiser later this year around the festive season. However, Nehru seems to have jumped the queue by privately importing the SUV before the official launch. The price tag of Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 is likely to be around Rs 2 crore. The minister must have paid extra to privately import the SUV to India. Toyota Kirloskar will import a limited number of Land Cruiser LC300 in its ‘Sahara’ version to India. Toyota confirmed that there is a waiting period of four years for it because of the high demand and shortage of semiconductors. It is also because Toyota has ditched the massive V8 engine for the new fuel-efficient V6 engine with the new model.
Soon tipplers in Kerala will be sipping wine and liquors made from locally grown fruits and it will be relatively cheap. By giving license to make fruit-based, low alcohol content beverages, the Kerala government intends to boost cultivation of bananas, pineapple, jackfruit, cashew and nutmeg in the State. The government has also initiated steps to extract liquor from tapioca, for which it has allocated Rs 2 crore in the Budget. Studies show that 250 ml of spirits can be produced from 1 kg of tapioca at a cost of Rs 48. Meanwhile, a local cooperative bank, Payyavur Service Cooperative Bank has been given permission to produce liquor from cashew apple on the lines of Goan Feni. The new President of the Cooperative Bank, TM Joshy, had mooted the idea of making liquor from cashew apple way back in 1991. “As the state and its people always hesitate to accept new and non-conventional ideas, my attempt had failed then”, said Joshy. As per rough estimates, farmers are expected to make Rs 300 crore per annum and excise department another Rs 300 crore from production and sale of Feni. It is learnt that liquor and wine made from fruits and vegetables sourced locally will be processed and distributed by the Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd (Bevco), which has a wide distribution network.
Tamil Nadu’s BJP President K Annamalai is making news for his energetic snoop, scoop and share. He figured as a juicy news break in the mainstream media last week. The DMK is now clearly wary of him, and his exposes. The latest is about the fake passport issue scandal in Madurai which has reached the desk of ADGP, David Asirvadam, no less. Annamalai constantly trains his guns at the dynastic rule of the DMK. RS Bharathi, long term DMK spokesperson brushes this aside and retorts “Annamalai talks nonsense “. He made headlines once again as he thundered at a Press meet like a modern day Nostradamus, “The Eknath Shinde of TN has already taken avatar. Wait and watch.” When everything is cornered by one family, rebellion erupts. Late Bal Thackeray and Kalaignar traversed identical paths, as did Aaditya and Udhayanidhi. It may be mentioned that Stalin has consistently been anti-Centre and anti-Modi with his subtle delimitation of Union and States powers. But the recent threat by A Raja to the Modi government that TN would secede if the state was not granted more autonomy in Stalin’s presence has provided more ammo to Annamalai. He has promptly sent a petition to the Lok Sabha Speaker that A Raja cannot continue as MP after this secession rhetoric. A case has been filed too. Annamalai surely believes that the BJP’s ‘Telangana first, TN next’ strategy slogan has been fast forwarded significantly.
Cooling-off period is an issue that has been bugging the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a long time; it’s a significant governance rule incorporated in the Reforms in Cricket Report authored by the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee. It was six years ago, on July 18, 2016, that the Court accepted the Lodha Report. But in spite of the review and curative appeals going against it, the BCCI has been petitioning the Court to allow it to amend its bylaws. After accepting a few modifications recommended by the Vinod Rai chaired Committee of Administrators (COA) the Court asked the Registrar of Societies, Tamil Nadu to validate the BCCI’s new constitution on August 9, 2018. The Court-approved Constitution prevents the BCCI to carry out amendments without its permission. One of the six rules the BCCI has sought relief from the Court is to modify the combined (BCCI and State Association) consecutive term of three years each rule for the cooling-off period to come into effect. The BCCI wants two consecutive terms independently at the BCCI and State. The BCCI also wants relief from certain disqualification rules for contesting elections, nomination of a person to the ICC and full powers of the Apex Council and Secretary to be restored. The Supreme Court is likely to hear the BCCI’s point of view soon.
Sangrur MP and pro-Khalistan leader Simranjit Singh Mann reposed faith in the Constitution as he took oath of office as member of the Lok Sabha for the third time .For some strange reason, Mann did not take oath in the House along with other three-newly elected MPs on July 18; he preferred privacy of the Speaker’s chamber to take his oath. He met Speaker Om Birla in his chamber and took oath in his office. Congress MPs from Punjab wanted to know why Mann did not take oath in the House. “Mann saab came to the House; he was moving around in Central Hall too. He was perhaps too embarrassed to swear by the Constitution in full public view,” pointed out Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill. Taking oath in Punjabi, Mann had said, “I affirm faith in the Indian constitution.” If Mann returned to reaffirm his faith in the Constitution, it should not surprise anyone — after all he was an IPS officer who had quit service following Operation Bluestar in 1984. Mann also promised to work for the betterment of Sangrur. A three-time MP, Mann represented Sangrur in 1999 too. A vocal supporter of Khalistan, Mann had won from Tarn Taran by a margin of over 4.6 lakh votes. He had then refused to enter Parliament without the kirpan. Time has really mellowed the man now.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra appears to have adopted a conciliatory stance towards the saffron alliance regime headed by Shiv Sena’s breakaway group leader Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadanvis. Disregarding its earlier association with the Shiv Sena and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra, NCP leaders headed by former deputy CM Ajit Pawar called on Shinde and Fadanvis to greet them for their new responsibility. They urged Shinde not to stall various development projects for political reasons. Pawar said Shinde and Fadanvis assured them that only those works sanctioned for political expediency will be reviewed. Neither the Congress nor Uddhav were consulted by the NCP before trooping to Shinde and Fadanvis. Significantly, several NCP MLAs from different states have openly voted for NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. On the other hand, Shinde has declared that about 200 MLA votes from the state will have gone for Murmu. The saffron alliance was supported in the trust vote by 165 MLAs. Hence a pall of suspicion hangs against indications that cross voting has occurred in Maharashtra, too. Meanwhile, many MPs from the Uddhav camp are said to be on their way to join the Shinde group. Their announcement is expected any moment.
Tamil Nadu cops of Chinnasalem in the central district of Kallakurichi were caught napping on a Sunday morning when protesters gathered in force around a school in which a Class 10 girl died in mysterious circumstances. Police were hopelessly outnumbered when they woke up to the protesters having scaled the walls of the school property. When they tried to gather in force, they were told by protesters not to come near until their vandalism of the school was complete. School Infrastructure, including buses to ferry students, worth around Rs 10 crore may have been damaged beyond redemption by the time the cops were engaged by the protesters in a stone throwing contest. Police had to fire in the air and use tear gas freely to try and rein in the protesters. The police were heard giving the lame excuse that the mob had used social media to gather in numbers. The truth may be closer to the fact that a Sunday morning was a quiet time for the law enforcers. The high court passed strictures against the police while ordering a CBCID probe and a SIT to deal with those who were seen destroying school property in several videos that were shot on the scene. The TN police force may pride itself on being one of the smarter ones in the country but this time they had slipped up.
Whose idea was it to field the former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva, a senior Congress leader who fell out of favour way back in 2008, when she talked about tickets being sold in Karnataka assembly elections? Well the credit for pitting Alva against formidable NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankar, West Bengal Governor and a Jat leader from Rajasthan goes to CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury. It was Yechury who proposed Alva as a candidate at the July 17 Opposition meet at Sharad Pawar’s residence. Yechury who is close to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul seems to have done all the preparatory work with Alva. Congress leaders breathed easy as they knew the Gandhis would not object to Alva’s name once they became aware of Yechury’s role. It was Yechury’s idea to turn the Veep’s battle into a North versus South, a minority Christian against Hindu nationalist candidate. But did Alva’s candidacy help in swinging Southern parties like the pro- Christian YSRCP to the UPA side? Apparently not. Even the TMC may not back Alva. Mamata did not enjoy good terms with Alva while she was in the Congress. As for Dhankar his elevation is bound to have salutary effect on the Jat votes in Rajasthan, Haryana and UP. MPs cutting across party lines are bound to vote in his favour on August 6.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued an internet service provider (ISP) Category B licence to Kerala Fibre Optic Network Ltd (KFON). This enables KFON to provide internet services within Kerala. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a Facebook post said that Kerala has become the first state in India to have its own ISP and internet project. Kerala will provide internet services as a basic right to the people. The project announced in 2019 envisages installation of 35,000 km of optical fibre cable (OFC) network across 14 districts in Kerala. Till date 30,000 km of OFC has been laid and connected to 5000 Government offices and 25,000 Government institutions. KFON aims to provide free internet access to 20 lakh economically-backward households. The project also plans to connect government offices, educational institutions, hospitals etc. KFON will allow telcos and other service providers and community -level networks to offer services to under-served areas. Of the total OFC network, 50% will be leased out to telcos and cable TV operators. KFON will be able to connect to the nearly 8000 odd mobile towers in Kerala and significantly enhance the mobile call quality and also accelerate the 4G/5G transitions. The project is backed by Kerala State Electricity Board, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board and Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd.
A 90-minute tete a tete between Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadavnis and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) boss Raj Thackeray at the latter’s Shivaji Park residence in Mumbai is considered significant in view of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election due later this year. Fadanvis drove to Thackeray to ‘honour’ his earlier pronouncement that he would be meeting Raj soon. MNS was considered a formidable factor against the Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray till the last civic election held five years ago. However, its performance was disappointing and hence was sidelined in Maharashtra politics. The installation of the Eknath Shinde-Fadanvis saffron alliance regime has changed most equations in the state overnight. The major among them is the BMC, which has been under Shiv Sena control since 1985. All attempts to wrest this body having the largest civic budget in the country away from the Sena have failed so far. To deal one more fatal blow to Uddhav, the BJP, the Eknath Shinde faction and MNS are in the process of reaching a pact that will take on the Sena of Uddhav. Raj’s decision to ‘postpone’ his public address a second time is viewed as confirmation of such an emerging understanding. Shinde, Fadanvis and Raj will sing the same tune from different platforms at the same time soon to sound the bugle, saffron insiders have indicated.
Odisha’s two prominent media barons Soumya Ranjan Patnaik of No 1 daily Sambad and Kanak TV, and Bhatruhari Mahtab of Odisha’s oldest daily Prajatantra seem to be questioning chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s working style. Interestingly, both are senior BJD leaders. Patnaik, son-in-law of the late chief minister JB Patnaik is BJD MLA and so too is Mahtab, BJD’s Lok Sabha MP. Sources say it was Naveen babu’s clever move to get these media barons on his side by offering them party tickets. According to sources, these barons now are uncomfortable and would like to speak their minds on a host of burning issues plaguing the state. They want to give an alternate opinion as independent thinkers. But in Naveen babu’s scheme of things policy issues and role of think tank were assigned to bureaucrats who in turn ensured these politicians were kept out of bounds, be it strategic issues or cabinet reshuffle. Feeling left out they have started playing the role of watchdog. Result: Odisha’s media has started publishing/broadcasting hard stories exposing government’s shortcomings, allegations regarding Covid mortality details being fudged, dominance of bureaucracy ,rising trend of alcohol consumption, corruptions within the party. BJD sources say “The complaining media owners are also part of the BJD government now. When an individual joins a party he ceases to be an independent voice”.
The CPI (M) in West Bengal is currently under extreme political crisis after being completely whitewashed in the 2021 Bengal Assembly Election. With no MLAs at the Assembly, the party has been trying desperately to reach out to the grassroot level and increase their public relations by highlighting the achievements of the 34 years of Left Front regime. Lack of leaders with the stature of someone like the late chief minister and CPI (M) patriarch Jyoti Basu and his successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the party continues to highlight upon their 34 years of Left Front regime. Moreover, it celebrated the anniversary of the establishment of the first Left Front government. Numerous social media posts and videos were shared along with the talk shows participated by former Left Front chairman Biman Bose, former Left Front minister and senior leaders Surjya Kanta Mishra, Ashok Bhattacharya and others. Significantly, Bhattacharjee still remains still the go-to person, despite staying away from public limelight since leaving office in 2011. The party made an interesting choice, when it urged the 78-year-old ailing Bhattacharjee to address the 11th All India Conference of the CPI (M)’s youth wing the Democratic Youth Federation of India recently held in Kolkata. For a party that is now looking to gain a toehold in the state after over a decade of continuous electoral reverses, has also held ahead several events on the occasion of Jyoti Basu’s 109th Birth Anniversary.
The BJP’s velvet gloves were off at the National Executive meet in Hyderabad. The message was “Look South for our next push”. No one was surprised by the new slogan, “Telangana first, TN next”. So is BJP working towards Opposition Mukt Bharat? Maybe! The Delhi-based journalist R Rajagopalan who has attended over 15 such political party executive meets in his long career says that the Hyderabad session left him in awe and admiration. Sensing its move, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made his displeasure known by not receiving the PM Narendra Modi when he visited Telangana twice. “Telangana has several Eknath Shindes”, says BJP leader Bandi Sanjay in retaliation. The recent development in Maharashtra where two-thirds of Sena MLAs walked out to align with BJP and form the government could well be an eye-opener for KCR that BJP means business. In the neighboring Tamil Nadu the appointment of the Governor RN Ravi has made the MK Stalin-led DMK government very uncomfortable from Day One. It may be recalled that BJP has been trying hard to make inroads by appointing by former IPS officer K Annamalai as its party chief as its earlier experiment of wooing superstar Rajnikant failed. What perhaps could help BJP gain inroads in TN is the infighting within AIADMK. One thing is loud and clear that Telangana and TN are on BJP’s radar as it seems doable.
Are people adapting to digital technologies? Well, if the question is posed to Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. “Deepak Parekh bought a smartphone, otherwise he was always using a SMS, text phone. When he said abhi (now), I need to be at least on WhatsApp, I need to do Zoom calls, so I bought a smartphone,” Chandra, as is fondly known in the industry, said. It is no brainer that the Tata group chairman was referring to HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, who is 77 years old. Despite his oversized stature in the corporate world, Parekh, the Padma Bhushan awardee never upgraded his normal cell phone, until the pandemic struck. Hence, Parekh buying a smartphone becomes the benchmark or the proof of ‘digital adoption’ gaining ground. In comparison, Chandra, also a Padma Bhushan awardee, is known for his technological prowess. The head of IT behemoth Tata Consultancy Services is also the author of ‘Bridgital Nation: Solving Technology’s People Problem’. Chandra’s comments were made at the 74th Founding Day Lecture Meeting of Bombay Chartered Accountants Society (BCAS), where he was the guest speaker. In his speech, Tata Sons’ Chairman also hailed the “huge innovation” and the huge human spirit and how people could adapt – poor and rich – during the last two years of Covid.
It was with certain relish that sections of supporters of Eelam in Tamil Nadu celebrated the news that Gotobaya Rajapaksa had fled Sri Lanka. They have never forgiven the Sri Lankan Army for killing all of the Velupillai Prabhakaran clan towards the end of the war around May 18, 2009 and Gotobaya had a direct role to play in this as the news of Prabhakaran’s capture was conveyed to him. He asked Sarath Fonseka, chief of the army, to rush to the venue of the capture and ensure that Prabhakaran and his people were eliminated. Fonseka carried out the order to the T also eliminating Prabhakaran’s young son who may have had little to do with his father’s revolutionary movement. The word from Gotobaya, then Defence Secretary, was to get rid of all the clan as not a DNA of the family should linger. The little told story of Prabhakaran’s final hours was to do with how he and his guerrillas had been wiped out but he refused to bite the cyanide bullet as he would rather stand up to the enemy. Instructed to wipe out the family DNA, the army chief acted as told and then the pictures of Prabhakaran’s body lying in the field was leaked because sections of the media had said that the chief of the Tigers was still alive. Gotobaya was the one who gave the order to shoot.
Taapsee Pannu is 52 films old in Bollywood but this 35-year old actress hasn’t really got a role in mainstream film. In a recent media interaction, she even confessed when asked why doesn’t have films with big heroes — she did two with Big B — to which Taapsee said that she does not get those kinds of films but carefully added that she now has one with Shah Rukh Khan. Taapsee is considered to be one of the actresses who can headline a film and do a decent job. She started with an out-and-out comedy Chashme Baddoor with David Dhawan and then with Judwaa 2 where she looked out of place. When offers from Bollywood dried up she acted in quite a few south films and made a mark. Impressed by her performance, filmmakers in the south started to write roles for her. Ditto: filmmakers in Mumbai. Anubhav Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Pandey gave her characters that made her stand out. Baby, Naam Shabana, Thappad, and Haseen Dilruba were shouldered by her. In Shaabash Mithu, a biopic she plays the Indian captain Mithali Raaj. A strong headed girl she got into trouble for her social media posts on some prickly social political issues. Looks like this model from Delhi has certainly created a space and identity in Bollywood and nobody can wish her away.
In an interesting move Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma travelled to Darjeeling on the invitation of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on July 13. There at the Raj Bhavan, the Governor Dhankar also asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to come over as she had arrived in the hills to attend the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration swearing-in ceremony. The meeting of the CMs was something Mamata found hard to refuse; it triggered intense speculations. That is because Sarma is considered to be very close to Home Minister Amit Shah and it was felt he may have come to talk to Trinamool Congress Supremo about supporting Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election on behalf of the BJP. However, post her interactions with Himanta, Mamata made it clear that there was no talk of politics. The whole thing was a courtesy call. Asked whether she and Sarma had any discussion on the presidential election, Banerjee said, “How can that be possible? We belong to different parties.” At the same time she said, “It felt good to meet Himanta. When I went to Kamakhya temple, he helped me a lot. I think our relationship must continue as there are several Assamese in West Bengal and many Bengalis in Assam. We share a border in Alipurduar district. The two state governments must keep communicating with each other.” And therein lies the catch.
Neeraj Chopra is girding up his loins in Oregon, USA, in order to rule the roost in javelin throw event of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.The 24-year-old from Panipat shot into global fame making short work of a world-class field in the Tokyo Olympics last August, became India’s first sportsperson to win a track and field gold medal at an Olympics and became the darling of Indian Athletics. After the Tokyo glory, Chopra, a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army, is looking to surpass his best and throw the spear beyond the 90-metre mark and become a top contender for the gold in less than 10 days. The javelin qualifications are slated for July 21 and the final on July 23. Chopra began his preparations for the worlds with a throw of 89.94 metres, a national record created at the Diamond League at Stockholm on June 30. “I am close to 90 metres. I know I can throw it this year. A lot of guys now are capable of throwing over 90 metres. I think it will take 89 metres plus to win in Eugene (Oregon).’ Grenadian Anderson Peters and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch have touched 93.07 m and 90.88 m this season, just the motivation for Chopra to go for 90 m plus at Oregon.
The moment Uddhav Thackeray stepped down as Maharashtra chief minister, internecine differences in the then ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) started simmering. Now they have come out in the open, the reason being the impending election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Former Union minister Milind Deora has complained against the reorganisation of the election wards for the coming election. He has complained that the Shiv Sena, when in power, restructured the wards to ensure maximum electoral benefit for itself. Deora has appealed to chief minister Eknath Shinde to undertake a fresh drive to reorganise the wards in a transparent manner. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the third MVA partner, has declared that it will start preparations for the civic election, not caring who comes along. NCP chief Sharad Pawar chaired a meeting of his party workers in Mumbai. He surprised them by announcing that he himself will lead the campaign in Mumbai. The Sena’s unilateral decision to support Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential election has angered the Congress party already. Senior former minister Balasaheb Thorat vented the ire just a day before. Now that Deora, too, has jumped in the fray, the two-pronged attack is bound to push the Sena into a corner, it is felt. According to Deora, the Sena-engineered reorganisation can cost the Congress party around 20 seats in the BMC.
India is fascinated with a PIO as the front runner for occupying 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister of the world’s fifth largest economy but the anticipation among Tories is that Penny Mordaunt might be able to beat him in the head-to-head runoff. She nearly doubled her support to 67 votes behind Sunak’s 88 as Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt were eliminated. In an intense phase of campaigning, Sunak is using a staff of 20 besides a personal chauffeur to rush around London while Penny has been clever in making her campaign – “PM (Penny Mordaunt) for PM.” A new poll among Conservative Party members suggests that PM will indeed become PM. As a former military woman, she made some startling observations, including stating the fact that women cannot have a penis in order to ward off criticism that she is too “woke” to be leading the Tories. While Sunak is promising to run the economy like Margaret Thatcher, Penny feels a lot more is needed than just tax cuts to revive the $3.4 trillion economy that is in danger of going into recession in the face of runaway inflation. Under fire for his wife’s non-domicile tax status in the UK, the son-in-law of former Infosys czar NR Narayana Murthy is still certain to take a good shot at becoming UK’s Prime Minister.
Rather than rebutting Shiv Sena barbs, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde faction seems to have decided to focus its attacks against Nationalist Congress party founder Sharad Pawar. The person deputed to do so is Deepak Kesarkar, a former close aide of Pawar and now principal spokesman of Shinde. Interestingly, Kesarkar attended the NDA meeting held in New Delhi to finalise strategy for the election of its Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. Kesarkar was first elected to the legislative assembly on an NCP ticket from Sawantwadi in Konkan. He later switched sides to join the Sena and was a minister of state for home in the previous BJP-Sena government led by Devendra Fadanvis. A non-assuming person, Kesarkar is known for his sharp tongue. In his fresh onslaught, Kesarkar has accused Pawar of engineering every past split in the Sena, including the one started by firebrand leader Chhagan Bhujbal in 1991. According to Kesarkar, once Pawar himself had told him that Narayan Rane had walked out of the Sena because of Pawar himself. “Pawar was instrumental in making Raj Thackeray desert the Sena,” Kesarkar says. Pawar, architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, is perceived as the main adversary by the BJP and now the Shinde faction. Attacks against him are expected to intensify further.
Birmingham-based Ghanshyam Nabar is go to man. This 40-year old director of West Midlands India Partnership (WMIP) is helping Indian businesses find opportunities in the UK, particularly West Midlands. As somebody responsible for WMIP he is driving collaborative engagement between the West Midlands and India to unlock mutually beneficial and sustainable economic opportunities. He brings to table rich experience to ensure deals fructify and its win-win situation for both India and the United Kingdom. Such a laser-focused approach has seen him and his organisation gaining recognition and bagging awards. At the recently held UK India Awards his organisation won the award for the Best Business Promotion Agency Of The Year Award. WMIP edged out contenders like The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Department of International Trade UK, Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Manchester India Partnership to win the award. Nabar had won the same award for two years in a row for the Manchester India Partnership. Recently, WMIP hosted a do for the Indian delegates at Edgbaston ground. Spotted at the cricket match were Ajay Piramal and his son Anand. Besides, there were Telangana’s Principal Secretary Industries & Commerce Jayesh Ranjan, Prakash Wakhankar, BBC commentator and head honcho at the Mahindra BSA, Ankit Agarwal, CEO, Sterlite TECH, Dr Ravi Limaye, MD of Wockhardt. Looks like Nabar and his organization are creating the desired impact among the Indian diaspora.
With more political parties like Samajwadi Party allies in Uttar Pradesh, the Akali Dal in Punjab and even the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena deserting the Opposition ranks for NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, a nervous Congress has stooped to the extent of describing her as “representing an evil philosophy of India.” Aware that Murmu is poised to win the Presidential election hands down, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar, who was once Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, insisted that she should not be considered as a symbol of Adivasis even though she is a Santhal. “Yashwant Sinha is a good candidate. Droupadi Murmu is a decent person, but we shouldn’t make her a symbol of tribals. She represents the evil philosophy of India. The Modi Government is fooling the people.” In the same breath, he didn’t even spare incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind, saying atrocities happened against Dalits under his watch. Taking on the Congress, two BJP leaders — Union Minister Arjun Munda and senior leader Babulal Marandi — demanded that Ajoy Kumar apologise for his remarks. “Congress is frustrated. Tribal people got nothing during Congress rule. Congress is having trouble because for the first time PM Modi and NDA leaders have nominated a tribal woman for President’s post.” they said.
One of the longest running talk shows Koffee With Karan hosted by filmmaker and TV personality Karan Johar is back but with a difference. Season 7 is streaming on an OTT platform and not on Star World TV. From the kind of publicity Karan has been getting it seems the focus is on him not on the celebrities featuring on the show. Critics feel there is no novelty left in the show, only the platform has changed and the budget has gone up. They point out that the show is an exhibition of Karan’s circle of friends. And from the list of guests going around, it seems like the show is more about plugging his films Liger and Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, his cronies (plus those who show up at his birthday parties) and his south favorites Ram Charan and Prabhas. The previous seasons had actors like Kangana Ranaut who ribbed him and made headlines. Of course, his chat with cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul became controversial. The duo were suspended by BCCI for their misogynistic comments. Save for that most people interviewed by him are celebrities with whom he has great chemistry. Whatever his critics may say there is no gainsaying the fact that people do watch it and that explains why Koffee With Karan is into Season 7.
After Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s exit from the Modi Government on July 7 there were speculations whether the Minority Affairs ministry would be wound up. Questions were asked about who would take Naqvi’s place as there was no second Muslim MP in the ruling BJP to fill his shoes. PM Narendra Modi handed over the charge to Women & Child Development Minister Smriti Irani. Curiously her appointment was slammed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Jawahar Sircar who wanted to know how could a “Hardcore Hindu, married to a Parsi be given charge of Muslims, Christians. Is this BJP’s brand of secularism?” Sircar was countered by Law Minister Kiren Rijiju who wanted to know why minorities meant only “Muslims and Christians”. A Buddhist from Arunachal, he hoped, “one can free mind from the shackles of pseudo secularism and appeasement politics. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain and Parsis have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992”. The TMC possibly could be upset with Smriti’s added responsibility and acquiring a profile in Bengal when she went to launch the Sealdah Metro; Mamata’s party may have good reason to get worked up. Meanwhile it is learnt Naqvi moved out of his official residence 7 Safdarjung Road, just a day after his Rajya Sabha tenure ended. That is some record.
Thanks to the power-hitting displays by Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav, it is turning out to be an Indian summer in the British Isles, with last year’s fifth Test being the showpiece event in Birmingham. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) relocated the Test from Old Trafford to Birmingham which is home for thousands of ethnic Indians. At stake for the ECB was a revenue of £ 20 mn from SKY sports from the one off Test. The Indians thronged the venue and saw Pant and Ravindra Jadeja score centuries before Jonny Bairstow’s centuries in each innings and Joe Root’s century in the second brought down the visiting team at Edgbaston. It has been a full house, and the moolah reeling in for Cricket Ireland and the ECB ever since the Hardik Pandya-led Indian team provided the fireworks in the Twenty20 bash at Dublin and thereafter Rohit Sharma took charge for three more at Southampton, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge where the Mumbaikar Suryakumar Yadav pummelled the England bowling for 14 fours and six 6s to give joy to the paying spectators. Sharma’s team is all set to play three 50 over matches against the home team at London’s ‘The Oval’ and Lord’s and Old Trafford to complete the Indian Summer before the team’s eight-match engagement at the Caribbean.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s salvo about the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar has proved a damp squib as no political party in Maharashtra has reacted to his assertion that his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was not consulted beforehand by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) cabinet decided to rename Aurangabad after warrior king Sambhaji Maharaj during its last moments in office. The decision was welcomed all around. However, Pawar during his visit to Aurangabad a few days ago, maintained that the NCP was not aware that such a decision would be taken. Moreover, Pawar said that since the resolution to this effect was moved by Thackeray himself, democratic norms dictated that a proposal by a chief minister is unanimously endorsed by his council of ministers. Critics of Pawar point out that the ultimate cabinet meeting was attended by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, a nephew of the NCP boss. Ajit is said to have not opposed the proposal nor did he express any reservations. The NCP ministers present could have requested Thackeray to withhold it but they, too, acquiesced. In fact, it is pointed out that Sharad Pawar himself has not opposed the renaming. He merely has said that the NCP was not consulted prior to its passing. The expected storm it seems has withered away without a blast.
Even though BJP continues with its winning streak in the bypolls of Tripura State Assembly, all is not well within the party. Internal feuds continue to loom large just months ahead of the Tripura State Assembly Polls in early 2023. The rift which transpired after the sudden replacement of the chief minister Biplab Deb a month ago, resurfaced after the former CM was sidelined during the programme to host Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. Deb was not seen along with Murmu and chief minister Manik Saha on the dais. He had to be content sitting with the group of common legislators perfectly hinting at “dais to diaspora”. The incident has not gone down well with Deb’s followers. They have taken up the matter with National president J P Nadda and also intend to personally meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The rift basically ensued as these followers believed that the replacement of former chief minister with low-key medical practitioner Saha, who was also a late entrant and an ex-Congressman, was temporary. Fissures have deepened further with a clear indication when a relatively weak candidate was nominated to the prestigious Agartala seat during the recent bypoll against a strong Congressman. It was literally a walkover for Sudip Roy Burman who recently went back to his original party – Congress – from BJP.
The teaser of Mani Ratnam’s mammoth, magnificent multi-lingual Ponniyin Selvan (Part 1) has already garnered 1 crore views in just 24 hours of its launch at the Chennai Trade Centre. Taking a leaf out of Kamal Haasan’s pre-release carpetbagging blitz for his film Vikram, Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions have creatively unleashed the promos. First, there were posters of Aishwarya Rai, who plays the pivotal role of Pazhuvur Rani Nandini in her grand Chola-era costumes and jewellery. Then came Trisha, who plays Princess Kundavai in an equally attractive costume, followed by Vikram, Karti, Jeyam Ravi and others. The multilingual teasers, each launched by regional super stars Surya, Mohan Lal, Mahesh Babu, Rakshit Shetty and Amitabh Bachchan, have kindled high expectations. In an age when reading classics and following history is fast dying, Mani Ratnam has kindled interest in the late Kalki’s immortal literary classic, Ponniyin Selvan, the saga of the Golden Age of the Chola dynasty, and in particular Raja Raja Chozhan. The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones are sure to be compared as benchmarks for this extraordinary visual panorama. Ratnam has harnessed the best of cinematic talent, AR Rahman’s music, Thota Tharani’s Art, Ravi Varman’s cinematography – and the piece de resistance, Kamal Haasan as the Sutradaar narrator. Madras Talkies has mounted the Chola-era classic to be a much talked about film.
PM Narendra Modi unveiled the national emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament building on July 11. The emblem made of bronze, weighing 9,500 kg and 6.5 metre in height was cast at the top of the central foyer of the new parliament building. It took over nine months to cast. A supporting steel structure weighing around 6,500 kg has been constructed to support the emblem. To take the emblem to the roof, it was divided into over 150 segments and assembled on the roof; it took nearly two months to complete. Modi performed puja at the launch of the emblem. Opposition parties were presumably not invited for the event as they had boycotted the launch of Central Vista bhoomi pujan in December 2020. Nonetheless, AIMIM leader Asauddin Owaisi questioned the propriety of PM Modi unveiling the emblem, insisting it should have been done by Lok Sabha Speaker, perhaps forgetting PM Modi was after all leader of the Lok Sabha. “One can’t take Owaisiji’s objections seriously; he always takes an adversarial position,” said BJP spokesperson Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi. The proposed four-storey building was expected to be completed by August 15 to coincide with Azadi ka Amrit Mahatosav plans. However with the unveiling of the emblem now one can expect at least the winter session of the Parliament to be held in the new complex.
Presented with a fait accompli of a General Council meeting ratifying Edappadi Palaniswamy as the Interim General Secretary until elections are formally held in the AIADMK party, former CM and now former Coordinator O Panneerselvem will be exhausting all legal avenues before charting his future path. In seizing total control over the party, EPS also had OPS ejected from party membership saying he had been given enough opportunities to discuss issues and sort out differences. The only recourse available now for OPS would be to approach the courts with his claim that the entire GC meeting was illegal as he had not co-signed the notice convening the meeting. The courts did not take kindly to OPS seeking to stop the meeting and OPS didn’t attend the meeting either, preferring to go to the party HQ on Lloyds Road and camp there with his supporters. The BJP washed its hands of the AIADMK internecine tussle and will sit it out until it’s clear who is legally and officially in control of the party. OPS had no support from the top duo of BJP and is out in the political wilderness. He tried to play his cards too smartly, keeping a foot in the Sasikala camp while keeping channels open to the DMK leadership. OPS’ hold was on the treasury but he has lost that too.
Novak Djokovic had the last laugh in his bromance with Nick Kyrgios as he kept his date with destiny in his 21st Grand Slam win. But just about. For a major part of the first set and in many parts thereafter, the explosive Aussie seemed the better player, serving solidly and dominating the exchanges as the Serb struggled to read his serve. It was his temperament that kept letting Kyrgios down as he muttered to himself, chattered to people in his box and imploded in the fourth set tiebreaker. The statistics are awesome – Djokovic is unbeaten at Wimbledon since 2013 across 39 matches but they don’t tell the real tale. Grass is not Djoker’s best surface though he has won seven Wimbledon titles, same as Pete Sampras and one behind Roger Federer. He has equalled Borg, Sampras and Federer in winning four Wimbledon titles on the trot. The grace of a multiple times champion, who has the albatross of being an anti-vaxxer on his shoulders, Djokovic came through in a difficult year in which he was hounded out of Australia and was underdone when Rafael Nadal outplayed him in a quarter-final at Roland Garros. It was poetic justice as a player a Covid-struck world loved to hate raised his game to beat Kyrgios and keep the long running race for Grand Slams with Nadal and Federer alive.
The curious silence over the past fortnight of a normally strident voice has led to much speculation, especially in view of the impending Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, which will take place after the monsoon. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has hardly spoken about the current political developments though his party’s lone MLA supported the Shinde-Fadanvis alliance during the trust vote and election of the State Assembly Speaker. While stray comments emerge from the MNS camp, Thackeray himself has refrained from speaking. Raj underwent surgery recently and is convalescing. While a few prominent visitors have called on him at his Shivaji Park residence in the past few weeks, he himself has not made any public appearance nor addressed any meeting or the media. Otherwise a regular media feature, Raj is said to be biding his time to speak out. The BMC is called the Shiv Sena’s oxygen plant, being the richest civic body in the country. Hence there is little doubt that the Sena will try its best to maintain its stranglehold on it. However, with the changing political equations in Maharashtra, the Eknath Shinde faction and the BJP will spare no efforts to snatch it away. In such a scenario, the role of MNS and Raj Thackeray will be crucial. Whispers are heard that an announcement can be expected soon about this.
Are some members of the Shiv Sena breakaway group likely to reconsider their decision to follow Eknath Shinde out of the party? Guesswork is rife owing to some prominent rebel MLAs repeatedly declaring their loyalty and respect towards Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. When BJP’s watchdog Kirit Somaiya described Uddhav as ‘mafia’ before television cameras, several Sena rebel MLAs took strong objection to the derogatory term and warned the former MP to mind his language. Buldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad has declared that many like him will walk out of the alliance with the BJP if Uddhav is attacked. Former ministers Gulabrao Patil and Deepak Kesarkar have declared that Uddhav will not be criticized by alliance members. Another rebel MLA, Suhas Kande, said he will lead a delegation of the rebels to the Thackeray residence, Matoshri. But Shinde’s trusted aide Kesarkar added a rider. He said, “If there is any talk for a patch up, our ally BJP, too, will be in the picture.” On the other hand, Uddhav, his son Aaditya and their spokesman Sanjay Raut have adopted a tough posture in response to the various pronouncements by the Sena rebels. The situation is further confounded as actress and Sena functionary Deepali Sayyad has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the initiative. “Uddhavji and chief minister Shinde will not defy your word,” she has said.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.