Off The Record-9 November

Perfect timing

On Saturday, Kerala PCC president held a press conference to brief the media about the strategy of the Congress-led United Democratic Front for the local body polls to be held next month. He said that UDF’s slogan during the campaign would be ‘one vote against corruption’. In what could be considered perfect timing, at the same time Manjeshwar MLA M C Kamaruddin was arrested by the police in connection with cheating hundreds of people who invested in his jewellery business. Kamaruddin, a member of Indian Union Muslim League is a key ally of Congress, the development has taken the shine off UDF’s slogan.

Arjun Raghunath, Thiruvananthapuram

A meeting, a request

Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit met the top brass of the Union Government last week during his visit to New Delhi. Though the visit was primarily to consult the Centre on issues related to the state, Purohit seems to have surprised Delhi by seeking a transfer. It has been three years since he came to Chennai and the former journalist wants to now leave Tamil Nadu and settle in a “politically peaceful state.” Stumped by Governor’s sudden request, the top brass has asked him to wait for some time. The Governor is under fire from Opposition parties on a slew of issues.

E T B Sivapriyan, Chennai

Mixed feelings

The CPI(M) Central Committee finally gave its nod for the party to enter into an electoral understanding with Congress in the Assembly elections scheduled next year. So far, the Prakash Karat-led faction, which is supported by the Kerala unit, wanted no truck with Congress. However, with the political situation changing, they came around to the party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury’s line to engage with all secular parties, including Congress, to take on the BJP. With the Kerala lobby coming out in full support, it was expected that there would be not a single dissenting voice. There were reports that at least three voted against the move, but this claim was rebutted by the party leadership. It seems the anti-Congress sentiment is still being harboured by some comrades as around 10 leaders, including a few from Kerala, abstained from voting.

Shemin Joy, New Delhi

In the name of the farmer

The rising prices of pulses and vegetables are pinching the common man. However, the Modi government claims that the increase in food grain prices, particularly pulses and coarse grains, is due to the hike in minimum support price, which has been aligned with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report. The agricultural scientist had recommended fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production incurred by the farmer. Senior ministers in the government claim that farmers were the direct beneficiaries of the increase in prices and not the middlemen as was the case during previous regimes.

Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi

History with Bollywood

The entertainment industry is like a family, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as he shared his family’s relationship with Mumbai’s Tinseltown. “My father (the late Shiv Sena supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray) made showcards for film studios. He was an artist, cartoonist. My uncle (the late Shrikant Thackeray) was a music director,” he said, adding that they had friendly relations with several other top stars. “Stars like Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna were regular visitors,” he said, adding that he had accompanied his uncle to recording studios and seen Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Manna Dey. He recalled how late Dev Anand had called him, “as soon as the coloured version of the film (Hum Dono) was released, he called me. Uddhav kidhar ho? (Uddhav where are you?) I was not even the chief minister then. I was just among the invitees, sitting at the back,” the CM said, adding, “such was the relationship.”

Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai