Talented-but-tainted cricketer S. Sreesanth’s inclusion in the BJP’s list of candidates has caught even local leaders by surprise. While a court dropped match-fixing charges for want of evidence, a life ban on the cricketer is still in place as a BCCI inquiry had found him guilty. While the controversial cricketer has gratefully clutched at the lifeline offered by the BJP, people wonder if he would draw the youth to vote for him.
Regional ally AGP gamely tried to defend BJP chief Amit Shah, who put his foot in the mouth claiming that Ahomiya King Sukapha had driven out the Mughals 17 times. It’s not Shah’s fault that he doesn’t know history and the fact that Sukapha died 200 years before the advent of the Mughals, AGP leaders argued. His team should have briefed him better, they said.
Those who had ridiculed Baba Ramdev’s claim that yoga cured cancer and AIDS have another year to change their mind. We have it from Ayush minister Sripad Naik that the government is erring on the side of caution by getting the findings of Bangalore-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana tried, tested and endorsed ‘scientifically’ in the next one year. An admission of sorts, this?
Fact 1: Chief minister Jayalalitha is seen to be close to Narendra Modi. Fact 2: The Modi government has been harping on “cooperative federalism”. Fact 3: BJP was trying to cosy up to AIADMK ahead of the assembly elections. What then explains power minister Piyush Goyal’s extraordinary description of Tamil Nadu as “a state within a state”? After the BJP’s efforts to woo AIADMK fell through, Goyal said he couldn’t do much about the state’s power woes unless the government changes. He could speak to Jaya only once in 22 months, he rued, and AIADMK MPs would not speak without a nod from her. So, would Goyal have been so outspoken without a nod from Modi? Bonus question: will Amma forgive him if she wins?
In a first, the Telangana assembly Speaker allowed CM K. Chandrasekhara Rao to make a PowerPoint presentation on irrigation. The CM has offered to distribute the presentation to the MLAs in pen drives so that they can consult experts before taking part in the debate. While the Opposition is upset over the unconventional step, the jury is still out on the efficacy of the business-like move.
In line with other central universities, the one in Jharkhand made it to the news for suspending an associate professor for inviting a former JNU professor as a guest of honour. Fearing protests and pressure from ‘higher-ups’, the VC asked the professor to cancel the trip. That was only after he was told that the Mysore-based academic, who retired in 2009, was a ‘mentor’ of Kanhaiya Kumar and friends.
