The state of the economy which is in a far worse condition than the government wants us to know; the UPA's instability and the Robert Vadra factor may force a Lok Sabha election this winter, predicts T V R Shenoy
In May 2019, Sebi had penalised the NSE as well as two of its former heads - Narain and Chitra Ramkrishna - for allowing Sampark to provide the dark fibre connectivity to stock brokers, despite not having the authorised licence. Dark fibre refers to an unused optical fibre used for high-speed connectivity.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party saved Dr Manmohan Singh's chair today; will they tug it away from under him tomorrow, asks T V R Shenoy.
'Once again we have a case where a European armaments manufacturer apparently paid bribes to win a contract from India. Once again we have an honest man in the ministry of defence. Once again there is talk of contracts being cancelled to wring the truth. As a student of history,' says T V R Shenoy, 'I can only draw parallels.'
'The Gadkari issue is not about staying on the right side of the law, it is about public perception. How does the public perceive Nitin Gadkari?' asks T V R Shenoy.
If a party is indecisive while in the Opposition, what does it say about its capacity to govern effectively, asks T V R Shenoy.
The decline of the two national parties is palpable. Neither can hope to reach the mark of 272 on its own. One can only hope that India is spared another 1996-1998 experiment where the prime minister's party has fewer than one-tenth of the seats in the Lok Sabha, says TVR Shenoy.
A person familiar with the matter said the deal could be finalised in a month.
The rape of the young woman on a Delhi bus has effectively halted all discussion of corruption. The talk of mistreatment of women has pushed the massive economic mismanagement, particularly of inflation, into a remote corner, says T V R Shenoy.
'We need to celebrate those that buck the stereotype, such as Malala, Toorpekai, and Ziauddin Yousufzai in Pakistan. But, by the same token, we also need to condemn blind adherence to tradition in the urban, civilised areas of the West as in the case of Savita Halappanavar,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Governments have no business running temples. Governments certainly have no business deciding who is a Hindu and who is not a Hindu.'
We should not judge the Congress or the BJP by a Robert Vadra or a Nitin Gadkari. We must measure them by the standards set -- or claimed -- by the top leadership, namely the RSS and Sonia Gandhi. If one claims to be a moral exemplar, the other is the chief political leader in this country, says T V R Shenoy.
I worry about India. It is in a mess. We do not need President Obama to tell us that, nor Time, nor The Independent, says TVR Shenoy.
Unlike Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Giani Zail Singh, one hopes Pranab Mukherjee will do a better job when asked to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution', says T V R Shenoy.
Various people have admitted -- off the record -- that the BJP had the same 'Vadra File'. Why did the BJP not speak out, asks T V R Shenoy.
The Opposition says Pranab Mukherjee, who was the chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute Council, did not quit that office before filing the papers for his Presidential run. Mukherjee knows exactly how tricky these details can be, and how they can trip up even the most seasoned politician, says T V R Shenoy.
T V R Shenoy explains the likely reasons behind the West Bengal chief minister's seemingly bizarre political behaviour.
Why is the UPA seemingly bent on pumping the oxygen of publicity to its critics? If you judge the result of an action by the results you must admit that the UPA has scored some spectacular own goals.
Is it time to grant more powers to individual Indian states to detect, obstruct, and capture illegal immigrants?
G Madhavan Nair is punished by being barred from all government jobs. P Chidambaram continues to hold one of the most powerful offices in the government. Is that equal treatment? asks T V R Shenoy.
The feeling is gathering strength in the Congress that it can see off Anna Hazare if it comes to a fight in the political arena, and that there is nobody else of his stature left to call it to account, says TVR Shenoy.
'Rahul Gandhi is one of the few in the UPA with the political clout to carry out those much-needed reforms in the railway and power ministries, even if it means bruising a lot of egos in the short-term. Becoming a minister without portfolio is undoubtedly the safer option, but if there is no pitfall neither is there the opportunity of solid achievement.'
Did an Indian agency place a 'mole' within the Tatra subsidiary in Britain? Did powerful forces in India snuff out a life before anything emerged?T V R Shenoy asks some uncomfortable questions about the Tatra case.
Mulayam has no options but to continue supporting the government -- while Mayawati reaps the benefits. Kudos to Kamal Nath but you wonder if Mulayam has been left stranded while his rivals float across the river, says T V R Shenoy.
If there is one lesson that should be heard by every political party it is that both candidates and campaigners need something more than a famous surname to push them over the winning line. T V R Shenoy lists the lessons of Election 2012.
It is hard to say who is pursuing the more stupid course -- the CPI-M in Kerala or the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, says T V R Shenoy.
HealthifyMe is an app that connects users to fitness trainers virtually, motivate them on goals.
Years ago, as finance minister, Manmohan Singh popularised the term 'systemic failure.' Today he appears to believe it is a case of individuals being at fault rather than the system. I believe he was wrong then and is wrong now, says T V R Shenoy.
The squabbles we are seeing today over the election of the next President will be nothing compared to the all-out war ignited by a fragmented verdict after the 2014 General Election, says TVR Shenoy.
Rahul Gandhi's remark 'I am a Brahmin, and I am general secretary of the party' would have been dismissed as a stray thoughtless remark if it were not for the fact that it shows a trend in his thinking, feels T V R Shenoy.
'The bottomline is that Rahul Gandhi's dream of ruling Uttar Pradesh has been buried. The talk is no longer of 'strengthening' the party, but of 'extending' the life of the Congress ministry in Delhi -- at almost any cost,' says T V R Shenoy.
'A K Antony's office receives something like ten letters a week, all alleging corruption. That works out to better than an allegation a day on average, holidays included.'
'India faces a very peculiar situation where the two most honest men in the Union Cabinet are suddenly facing the charge that massive scams took place in their own departments. Is that just coincidence?'
'Make no mistake, that nightmare is inching closer to reality. What should concern the BJP, CPI-M, and Congress is the manner in which they are losing -- often coming third -- and the states in which they are losing,' says T V R Shenoy.
The Congress First Family seems more comfortable with somebody like Vijay Bahuguna -- a scion of a political dynasty -- than with a man like Harish Rawat who carved his own path, feels T V R Shenoy. That attitude, he recalls, drove out Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra.
The Mayawati government's resolution for partitioning Uttar Pradesh and Manmohan Singh's move of allowing FDI in the retail sector are classic diversionary tactics to draw eyeballs away from the real issues that concern people, says T V R Shenoy.
The Congress has been reduced to dust in Tamil Nadu by its allies. The Trinamool Congress is set to do the same in West Bengal. And the NCP is gaining at the Congress's expense in Maharashtra, notes T V R Shenoy.
Kanimozhi and Kalmadi were welcomed as if they were freedom fighters emerging from jail. Getting bail does not mean that the cases against them have come to an end, or that they have been found innocent by the trial courts, says T V R Shenoy.
If the Food Security Bill is enacted as per the draft, then women shall be considered the 'head of the household' and the potential implications are staggering, says T V R Shenoy.
'H R Bhardwaj's exalted opinion of himself and Rahul Gandhi's exaggeration have done far worse than strengthen the chief ministers they claim to oppose.'
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