'There are people who believe that behind the prime minister's goody-goody exterior lurks a calculating man plotting each move carefully in order to emerge on top of every situation.'
'I need to work to find some joy in this life.'
As we enjoy his thrilling The Night Manager series, Deepa Gahlot looks at 10 Anil Kapoor films on OTT that shows off his versatility and star power.
Like Nitish, Mamata and KCR have prime ministerial ambitions, but, unlike Nitish who has established a rapport with Sonia, both Mamata and KCR are cold towards the Congress president, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Having seen the spectacular failure of Rahul Gandhi in the UP assembly election, is that 'what' Salman Khurshid is suggesting is Priyanka Gandhi? Like habitual gamblers, Congressmen are reluctant to let go of the apron strings of the family and, therefore, keen to try their last dice in the photogenic Priyanka, who seems promising only because she remains largely untested, says Virendra Kapoor
If Nitish Kumar is calling Narendra Modi names to endear himself to the minorities, or for severing ties with the BJP, he ought to be most welcome. The problem with the BJP is that in the face of persistent abuse that it is communal, it has developed an inferiority complex, forcing it to be on the defensive, says Virendra Kapoor.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's graduation to the Centre will end drift and confusion, says Virendra Kapoor
The ruling dispensation seems to have plumbed the depths of depravity following the constitution of the Lokpal panel. Whatever residual respect that one might have for a 'clean' prime minister was lost once a carefully orchestrated campaign of calumny was unleashed against civil society nominees on the Lokpal panel, says Virendra Kapoor.
It is left to the BJP to bolster its claim of being 'a party with a difference' by adhering to minimum standards of political morality. Given the long series of multi-billion-rupee scams of the UPA, the principal opposition party would undermine its anti-corruption campaign by persisting with Nitin Gadkari as its president, says Virendra Kapoor.
To fight communalism, you cannot have two standards, one for the so-called secularists and the other, and far more stringent and unreasonable one, for the alleged communalists, says Virendra Kapoor.
Do not defend corruption by advancing specious arguments as to who is authorised to speak for the people.
The overall message of the assembly election is certainly anti-UPA insofar as it was the endless series of corruption scams that determined the 2011 outcome, says Virendra Kapoor
The Congress will be wary of wheeling out Rahul Gandhi, when in all likelihood the Bharatiya Janata Party would field Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as one of its principal campaigners in the next general elections. Modi's image as a doer, a forceful orator, a great catalyst for the faster industrialisation of Gujarat beats the blankness of Rahul's CV, says Virendra Kapoor
The fact that S P Gupta was a former client of P Chidambaram is not germane to the controversy. The withdrawal of the cases in itself was scandalous. Not one of the three cases against Gupta impinge on the wider public interest, says Virendra Kapoor.
'Officially, Suresh Kalmadi had only Rs 6.7 billion to play around with as the Commonwealth Games boss. As against this, Sheila Dikshit's government was allocated Rs 16.56 billion to upgrade the capital's infrastructure in time for the Games.'
Because Indian Kashmiris have not allowed peace a chance in 60-plus years despite thousands of crores of taxpayers' money wasted on mollycoddling them and despite their being accorded a special status under Article 370, the time may have come to totally overhaul our Kashmir policy, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
'At the end of 2011, everyone had forgotten the so-called India Story and double-digit growth. Outside the members of the official economist clique, led by the prime minister's sidekick Montek Singh Ahluwalia, no economist predicts that GDP will grow at nine-plus percent. The last quarter saw growth slip alarmingly. At this rate, instead of Ahluwalia's 9% we will soon be back to the Hindu rate of growth of 3.5%,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
When educated ministers like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram are forced to defend the indefensible it shows a certain desperation in the top power structures in the ruling UPA, says Virendra Kapoor.
'Praise me, condemn me, but do not ignore me. Given that the Congress party has a whole army of office-bearers, a vast majority of Indians would find it hard to name even a couple of them. But you can bet that they will readily recall the name of one general secretary: Digvijay Singh. Fame and notoriety being two sides of the same coin for present-day politicians, Singh would not mind being abused by the 'aam aadmi' so long as he enjoys a fair recall value.'
'Singh has two options. Either he asserts the authority of his office or makes way for someone who is not a proxy for the Family and can command the Congress Parliamentary Party's loyalty.'
'Unlike the present system under which every minister does her/his own thing while Dr Manmohan Singh minds his business, prime ministers from the Nehru family were truly in control of their governments.'
'Vajpayee was the last of the national leaders. They do not make leaders of that calibre any longer. Maybe astute sociologists will undertake a study of the inverse link between a growing economy and a depleting leadership pool.'
Even when the Congress is facing the toughest challenge in its long history, it shows no sign of turning a new leaf and injecting internal democracy to revive its fortunes, argues Virendra Kapoor.
'Considering that there was an estimated Rs 10 lakh crores of Indian money stolen and kept in foreign tax havens, the UPA government with one stroke of its tainted pen has granted immunity to tax-evaders who had stashed the loot in tax havens.'
'As a lobbyist, she was within her right to co-opt whoever she deemed fit in her enterprise to service the interests of her clients. She broke no law. If she did, by now she would have been charged since these tapes belong to early and mid-2009.'
In first year of the UPA-2, non-performance is visible in all areas of governance, writes Virendra Kapoor.
The appointments to the Supreme Court and the high courts cannot be speeded up unless both the Judiciary and the Executive agree to a new mechanism which affords both near-parity in decision-making, argues Virendra Kapoor.
After the Gujarat and Himachal elections and the municipal polls in Mumbai and Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh will elect new assemblies next year leading up to the Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024, points out Virendra Kapoor.
While the Opposition is making a belated effort to form a joint front against the BJP, Mamata's ambiguous stand has created confusion, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Modi on the global stage always comes across as a statesman, counselling peace and amity to world leaders even as his policies at home hurt certain sections, explains Virendra Kapoor.
Voters can be relied on to punish a party which makes reckless promises without actually implementing them, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Mallikarjun Kharge has the stature, maturity and gravitas to lead a national party like the Congress with its rich history of struggle and myriad achievements, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Despite consumer inflation, joblessness, etc, ordinary voters still think Modi is the best to rule the country.< Going into the poll with a tried and tested prime ministerial candidate is a huge plus for the BJP --- and a huge handicap for the Opposition, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Among the eight secretaries are Bansuri Swaraj, former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana's son Harish Khurana and Imprit Singh Bakshi.
The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday sharpened its attack on Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal demanding her suspension by the Lieutenant Governor for a fair police probe of her alleged molestation charges.
'Given that the RGF is a family-controlled trust, why would the Congress defend it every time someone accuses it of wrong-doing?' asks Virendra Kapoor.
Whether it took the corona crisis to bring about the transformation, or otherwise, the change ought to be welcome, notes Virendra Kapoor.
'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.' 'To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar,' suggests Virendra Kapoor.
'Post the pandemic, when India is turning a new leaf in its economic policy with an eye on foreign capital and global supply chains that are likely to leave China, heightened tensions on the India-China border creates an atmosphere of uncertainty,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances