OFF THE RECORD

Row over ‘Medal’ in AP

A debate is raging in Andhra Pradesh over who brought the “President Medal” to the state. And no one is willing to take the credit. The “President Medal” is among the several lesser-known alcohol brands that the Opposition parties allege have flooded the state under Jaganmohan Reddy’s rule. The TDP especially is also charging that toxic “J Brands” (J for Jagan) are damaging the health and finances of people and their families. With the TDP legislators agitating over the spread of “costly cheap liquor” and habituated men allegedly turning to spurious illicit liquor, the chief minister himself chose to counter the charges. Speaking in the Assembly last week, Reddy said that liquor brands like the President Medal, Governor Reserve, 999 Powerstar, 999 Legend, ACB, Seventh Heaven are all part of “Chandranna’s Kanuka” (former CM Chandrababu Naidu’s “gift” to people). Reddy named some prominent TDP leaders as being involved in the business of distilleries in AP. “These liquors consumed during the TDP regime are health drinks, but under YSRCP they become spurious, illicit and dangerous,” the CM retorted while hitting out at the TDP, its chief and some media houses.

Prasad Nichenametla, Hyderabad

Stalin’s family visit to Dubai

Social media handles owing allegiance to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were quite active over the weekend owing to Chief Minister M K Stalin’s visit to Dubai to garner fresh investments for Tamil Nadu. What caught everyone’s attention on social media is the presence of Stalin’s family members during the tour and they reflected in the form of comments by various people. As family members, including Stalin’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law, accompanied him at a few events in Dubai and pictures of them dotted the social media, questions are being raised about their presence along with the chief minister and his official delegation.

ETB Sivapriyan, Chennai

Unification or poll-delaying tactic?

The Narendra Modi government has brought a Bill in the Parliament to unify three municipal corporations into one, just a month before the civic bodies were to go to the polls. This comes ten years after the unified municipal corporation was trifurcated. Both times, critics argue that politics determined the action. Both times supporters cite governance issues for the respective action. If late Sheila Dikshit wanted trifurcation to clip the wings of the Delhi Mayors, who have been her detractors, the BJP is now unifying it thinking that it could win the civic polls if it is a unified body.

Those who think that the Amit Shah-led Ministry of Home Affairs, which is piloting the Bill, has taken all measures to ensure that the polls are delayed, may not be wrong. The Bill wants to reduce the wards to below 250 from the existing 272, necessitating a delimitation exercise that could take around a year. It also wants a special officer to be at the helm till the first meeting of the unified corporation. Also, all powers are now concentrated at the Centre, while the state government is just a spectator.

Shemin Joy, New Delhi

Kerala Congress’ desperate bid

to lay K-Rail stones

The ongoing stirs in Kerala against the proposed semi-high-speed rail project, named Silver Line, gathered fresh momentum when Congress state president K Sudhakaran made a call for uprooting demarcation stones being laid for the project and the party workers started doing it literally. But the BJP stole the limelight by laying an uprooted demarcation stone on the police-guarded Cliff House Compound in the state capital where the official residences of the chief minister and ministers are located, that too on a day the chief minister was meeting the prime minister in Delhi seeking the nod for the project. Thereafter, the Congress workers were seen trying to lay stones at any government premises to regain the limelight.

Arjun Raghunath, Thiruvananthapuram