Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s lament that he feels ashamed for incompletion of the crucial Mumbai-Konkan-Goa highway even after 17 years has assumed another dark hue since it has come to light that the expenditure for the strategic link has almost doubled over the years. RTI activist Jitendra Ghadge has been informed by the ministry headed by Gadkari that the projected expenditure for four-laning of the highway will be around Rs 16909 crore. Earlier, it was tagged at Rs 11409 crore. Thus, the rise amounts to 48%. So far, Rs 11577 crore has been spent on the project. This amount exceeds the original estimate. Despite the delay and so much expenditure, many large tracts of the highway NH-66 are still incomplete. The result is harassment for the road users, especially during festival occasions. While it was announced in the past that the distance of 460 km between Mumbai and the Maharashtra-Goa border would be crossed within seven to eight hours due to the expansion of the highway, the common experience is that it is impossible to guess how long it can take to drive down to the destination. This is owing to the pitiable condition of the road. This delay is compared with the 700-km Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, which was completed within seven years from the day the work started. Exasperated, Gadkari has announced that he will not remain present for the inauguration of the link as he felt ashamed for the inability to complete the project.

On PM Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay was among the many leaders and CMs who posted their birthday greetings on X.  What however caught the political eye was that the TVK supremo’s “heartfelt birthday wishes” to “Modi avargal” was his acknowledgement that PM Modi “leads with dedication towards building a strong India”. He significantly wished for PM Modi’s “a long life filled with good health”. These were significant, considering it was made in the backdrop of a dogfight within the Congress in Tamil Nadu as to who will be the PM face for 2029 Lok Sabha polls. In fact, a public spat  erupted within the party over its alliance with TVK and the recent campaign projecting Vijay as a potential prime ministerial face, with two senior party leaders — former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief Selvaperunthagai and former MP Praveen Chakravarty — trading sharp remarks. The dispute began after Selvaperunthagai said any alliance involving the Congress should accept Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate. “If Rahul Gandhi is the PM, alliance partners should accept that. If not, what is the point of being in this alliance? It is only honest to have an alliance with those who openly and sincerely accept Rahul as the prime minister,” Selvaperunthagai said. Chakravarty, however, dismissed the former state Congress chief’s intervention, saying there was no confusion within the alliance and that TVK had not officially taken a position against Rahul Gandhi.  

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has admonished three top Bollywood actors over their appearance in a surrogate advertisement for a Pan Masala brand. Actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff are thus violators of the law in the eyes of the FDA, Munde has thundered in a TV channel interview.  The controversial advertisement is of Vimal Elaichi mouth freshner. In the frank questions-answer session, Mundhe has made it abundantly clear that for law, no celebrity status matters neither does it accord protection from legal proceedings. Hence, the three actors are treated as advertisers in this legal context. The FSSA of India Act requires endorsers to observe due diligence regarding the products they promote. Accordingly, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff received official show-cause notices from the Maharashtra FDA. The notices said the Vimal Elaichi campaign acts as a surrogate promotion for Vimal Pan Masala, which is banned in Maharashtra. The FDA directed the actors to stop the campaign and delete promotional content from social media. Munde revealed that while two actors have responded to the notice, one is yet to do so. He pleaded inability to name the individuals concerned, saying that the file for the case was with one of his subordinates. Munde has been hitting the headlines ever since he took over as FDA chief. Significantly, the state government has desisted from making any comment about his campaign, which has rubbed many in high places the wrong way.

For ages, Chennai’s Marina, the world’s second longest beach has remained the envy of many a coastal city. It has also hosted significant public protests for causes, strong or illusory. The imposing colonial, brilliant white IG’s office has presided over this imposing wide beach road. A recent decision to build a sprawling new Secretariat on 25 acres of Pattinapakkam’s loop road has raised a tsunami of protests from the nine fishing villages as they may lose their livelihood, if forced to migrate. But why is this site chosen from a clutch of other less vulnerable locations? The talk by the well and ill-versed is buzzing with anger, apprehension and alarm. Fishers’ boats have turned symbols of serious protest, with black flags on every boat.  Former Education Minister of the DMK Anbil Mahesh said there are so many schools in the narrow roads of Santhome nearly 20,000 students may face hardships of traffic diversion. A monument built on 25 acres of coastal land maybe inundated over the years …remember the tsunami of 2004 and how waves battered the road boundaries? Why this particular location? Also the earlier “New Secretariat” built on the Omandurar Estate by the DMK government was converted into multi-specialty hospital when J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK came to power. The TVK government’s Rs 1,200 crore Secretariat will affect livelihood of fishermen …a single boat supports 10 fisher families. There is the buzz about why Pattinappakkam? A ritzy high-rise here is the home of the CM and other celebrities. A well-known builder designed it. If the plan to build a spanking new secretariat goes through the value of this beach front will rise higher. The CM has already announced the project under rule 110.

Are the regional constituents of the INDIA Bloc beginning to work among themselves, without the Congress playing the role of “big brother”? While the Gandhis have maintained a cordial relationship with Mamata Banerjee, recent developments surrounding two bypolls in West Bengal have raised questions over the equation. On the day the Election Commission froze the Trinamool Congress’s party name and symbol, DMK leader Kanimozhi met Banerjee at her residence. The Congress, meanwhile, moved quickly to attack the poll panel’s decision, with general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal calling it “the Election Commission’s gift” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday. His remarks came as Kanimozhi’s meeting with Banerjee fuelled speculation about regional parties exploring a political platform that could operate independently of the Congress. The timing has acquired significance because the TMC and Congress are contesting the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls separately. Unconfirmed reports suggest Banerjee was willing to accommodate the Congress in one of the seats and had approached Venugopal. There has, however, been no response from the Congress to the reported outreach. Kanimozhi’s engagements have extended beyond Bengal. She met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in the presence of MPs Anil Desai and Milind Narvekar. The discussions reportedly covered the delimitation Bill, the Congress’s approach towards the BJP and the future of the INDIA Bloc. She also met NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule amid reports of differences between the Congress and NCP (SP) in Maharashtra. The developments come against the backdrop of an inactive INDIA Bloc coordination mechanism. Its 14-member committee met only once, on September 13, 2023. A proposal for regular meetings also faltered after a planned Hyderabad meeting in August 2026 failed to take place.

As expected, Rohit Sharma was selected in the Men in Blue squad for the three-match one-day international series against the West Indies. There has been a lot of chatter about his selection for the 2027 ICC World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The media went to town predicting that the third game against England at Lord’s two months ago would be his last, but a flat deck at the famous venue near St John’s Wood and a dropped catch inside 10 runs saw Sharma lash out and post a 110-ball 138 in a match India lost and the series 1-2. The go-for-broke knock gave him a lease of life, extending his career into its 20th year. His teammates after his debut (from 23 June against Ireland in Belfast) to 31st December 2007) have taken a bow from the game and progressed in life to hold positions in the BCCI set-up, like Ajit Agarkar, who is the chairman of selectors now, and Gautam Gambhir, who is the Head Coach of the team. Clearly, from the whispers in the grapevine, it appears that the Selection committee might be wanting Sharma – he will be 40 next April – to go and make way for younger batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and maybe Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to get matches under their belt before the 50-over World Cup in Africa. But the selection committee appears to be “out of the picture”, with a couple of bigwigs calling the shots. The BCCI Secretary, Devajit Saikia, went so far as to say that “he (Sharma) is batting superbly.” Sharma and Virat Kohli’s selection crops up once in a while these days, with both having retired from Test match cricket and Twenty20. Both are assets to the team, but for how long?

Unlike standard mass-produced coffee, Odisha’s government’s 100% Arabica speciality coffee particularly its premium brand ” Tiger Bright” grown at an elevation of 920–950 meters in Eastern Ghats of Koraput District by Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Odisha Ltd (TDCC) is now gaining both national and international attention. It is said that unlike standard mass-produced coffee, Odisha’s distinct microclimate and it’s treatment process imparts a sophisticated coffee flavour featuring tropical citrus notes balanced by smooth caramel, chocolate and cocoa undertones. Also, PM Modi chose to push Odisha’s coffee brand recently as a unique product both through his ‘Man ki Baat ‘ address and also at the recent 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi addressing the visiting international delegates and media members. It is said that Odisha’s “Tiger Bright” Koraput Coffee packets was added to delegates kits. Likewise NITI Aayog has also recognised Koraput coffee as an unique rising star indigenous product. Koraput Coffee is the brain-child of Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik. Amidst current praise on Koraput Coffee, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi’s job ahead is cut out – he has to take Koraput coffee to the next level both at the local and global level.

On the day Haiwaan opened to a disastrous Rs 3 crore zone despite Akshay Kumar on the other side of the frame, Filmfare circulated Saif Ali Khan calling Cocktail “100 per cent an inevitable mistake” and a “slightly regressive script choice.” Sacred Games (2018) was the last time Saif felt inevitable. Sartaj Singh gave him gravity on OTT and a second life after the theatrical slump of Phantom, Rangoon, Chef, Kaalakaandi, Baazaar and Laal Kaptaan. The correct next move was to stay a premium second lead and antagonist, the lane that actually worked: Udaybhan in Tanhaji, Bhaira in Devara. Instead he kept testing solo or co-lead theatrical vanity: Jawaani Jaaneman flopped, Bunty Aur Babli 2 collapsed, Vikram Vedha was only average against cost, Adipurush became a national joke even as collections looked large on paper, Jewel Thief went the OTT route with a shrug. Experiments like Go Goa Gone and Kaalakaandi were interesting. They were not openings. Haiwaan is the latest receipt. A Priyadarshan remake of Oppam, Saif as the blind protector, Akshay as the psychopath, and still no buzz, mixed-to-poor reviews, and one of the weakest two-star Fridays of 2026. The reunion after 18 years did not sell tickets. That is not “bad luck.” That is vanished lead pull. After Sacred Games he could have become the reliable second engine. He kept insisting on being the car. The graph is simple. Early-2000s multiplex charm. Mid-career character peak with Omkara, OTT resurrection. Then a string of “I did it so it could get made” choices. Cocktail was a hit despite the role. Haiwaan is a miss because the role is all that’s left. Until the choices get colder and smaller; villain, supporting, one film a year that matters, the openings will keep telling him what the interview already admitted.

Dashing hopes of the BJP, a fragmented opposition, the AAP and the Goa Forward Party have joined forces to create a new alliance called ‘Goa First’ with the hope to win the 2027 Goa Assembly elections. AAP’s national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, said the alliance is an alternative to the BJP and Congress. Kejriwal said voters deserve an option beyond these two major parties, arguing that they pretend to oppose each other during elections while collaborating behind the scenes. The Goa Forward Party, led by former deputy CM Vijai Sardesai, is a regional political outfit. Currently, it holds one seat in the 40-member state Assembly. The AAP has two MLAs. Ironically, for the past two years, Sardesai has wanted to merge the GFP with the Congress and had approached the party through multiple channels. In return, he sought either the post of LoP or the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) presidency. The Congress’s Yuri Alemao, who stayed with the party despite lucrative offers from the BJP, is the current LoP in the Goa Assembly, and the Congress was reluctant to replace him. The BJP has ruled Goa since 2012. In 2017 and 2022, it won because opposition votes were divided among multiple parties. Now in its 15th year the BJP government faces strong anti-incumbency. Allegations of land-transfer irregularities and a multi-crore cash-for-jobs scam have surfaced. The Congress won 11 seats in 2022, but eight of its MLAs defected to the BJP. Most Congress MLAs elected in 2022 came from South Goa, where the State’s Catholic-majority areas supported it. The AAP says it cannot have an understanding with the Congress in Goa, as it is the principal challenger in Punjab. Goa and Punjab go to polls in February-March 2027.

Is the Government reaching out to the Opposition for a special session of Parliament to pass the Delimitation Bill? Sources say Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s office has reached out to Congress chief and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge to see whether a session can be held before October 11, when Navratri begins. It is learnt that Rahul Gandhi is in no mood to help PM Narendra Modi to pass the delimitation bill to usher in women’s quota. The talk is that the government may also consider holding it during Navratri, citing the festival’s association with the worship of Goddess Durga and its symbolism around women’s empowerment. The Govt’s efforts are to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13. A few days ago, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the government had broken its previous record for the longest delay in proroguing both Houses. In response, Kharge wrote to Rijiju, reiterating the demand that the government convene an all-party meeting and disclose the proposed agenda before deciding. The issue of delimitation has remained a major political flashpoint, with the Congress demanding that the Lok Sabha’s existing strength of 543 seats be frozen for the next 25 years and that 33% reservation for women be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. On April 17, during the Budget session, the Constitutional amendment bill (to implement women’s reservation before the 2029) was defeated in the Lok Sabha. The buzz is that the government has opened channels with the DMK, which has 22 Lok Sabha MPs, to vote for the Bill. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the government has a two-thirds majority. Recently, DMK MP Kanimozhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar met fuelling speculation over opposition consultations on delimitation.