2012: Year of the Street, Court and Polling Booth
'What happens if the judge should accept Dr Swamy's arguments? Can P Chidambaram continue as home minister if he is an 'accused' in a scam? Leave aside the morality of it, will he be able to function in his highly sensitive post if he is distracted by legal battles?' Season of Southern Discontent
'I am more pessimistic than ever that any amicable solution to the Mullaperiyar Dam problem is possible. Neither state is prepared to accept that its neighbour might have legitimate fears, of a dam collapse in Kerala and of water famine in Tamil Nadu.' We have leaders who refuse to lead
'Where is the much-vaunted Congress 'high command'? Exactly where it was when Anna Hazare was shaking Delhi in August? Exactly where it was when the FDI-retail concern brought Parliament to a halt in November?' The prime minister no longer enjoys any authority
The prime minister, I believe, still enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha if push comes to shove, but 'majority' and 'authority' are two different things. When you look at Dr Manmohan Singh you must now automatically insert 'lame duck' before 'prime minister,' says T V R Shenoy. Our main political parties have become deaf and blind
'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 the people.' Why the Congress needs to fear its allies
'A defeat in the Hisar by-election would not make any difference to the numbers in the Lok Sabha for the simple reason that the Congress had not won that seat in 2009 anyhow. But alienating the Trinamool Congress (19 Lok Sabha MPs), the DMK (18 Lok Sabha MPs), and the Nationalist Congress Party (nine Lok Sabha MPs in addition to all the MLAs in Maharashtra) is another story. Those 46 MPs are crucial to the survival of the Manmohan Singh ministry.' Why is the Congress aggressively defending Chidambaram?
'It is no longer about A Raja alone. It is not even truly about P Chidambaram. It is about rescuing Dr Manmohan Singh.' When bribery became official in India
It is now on record that the Congress has a history of paying money -- call it 'donations' for 'cooperation' if you like -- to MPs from the Opposition benches. How the CBI has helped the BJP
'By any rational reckoning the CBI has done the BJP an enormous favour by arresting Janardhana Reddy. It gives the party one more chance at redemption.' Why hasn't PM faced Anna between April and August?
The answer to that must lie between the prime minister and his conscience. New Delhi's summer of discontent
What do you make of the sheer fecklessness of the political class, those men and women that are supposed to be the pillars of our representative democracy? Why are they all seemingly blinded by folly? asks T V R Shenoy. The communal polarisation of Kerala's voters
There was a clear polarisation of Christian and (especially) Muslim votes in favour of the UDF. This caused enough misgivings to start a consolidation of Hindu votes behind the LDF, says T V R Shenoy. Mayawati couldn't ask for a better foe than Rahul Gandhi
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. Doff a hat to the Indian voter!
Offered a proper choice, the electorate shall punish the corrupt, the incompetent, and the arrogant -- but also reward true performers. You cannot ask more of a democracy. Why the CPI-M deserves to lose West Bengal
'People resent the fact that idiotic policies set by the Left Front -- banning English from primary schools, hampering the installation of computers -- have left them behind applicants from other states in the race for jobs. Above all, they are tired of the corruption of the Left Front.' Why the Kadapa bypoll is critical for the Congress
If Jaganmohan Reddy wins the Kadapa by-election, he may be able to destabilise the Congress state government in Andhra Pradesh. This may also have implications for the UPA government at the Centre, says T V R Shenoy. 'Being non-corrupt is not the same as being anti-corrupt!'
'Kerala may have the worst physical infrastructure -- potholed roads to overflowing drains -- of the four major southern states, but does anybody care? Given all this you may think Kerala's voters lack any options come Election Day. That would be a mistake.' DMK: More bad news on the way
'There are indications of two streams of money flooding the coffers of Kalaignar TV. The first was from DB Realty. The second, which is not yet publicly disclosed, allegedly involves a sum of Rs 50 crore from another participant in the purchase of 2G spectrum. Investigators are also looking at a seeming clue thrown up by the famous Radia Tapes.' Who doctored P J Thomas's bio-data?
'Between 2000 and 2004 there were six recommendations to start proceedings against P J Thomas. After 2004 not only was there no such recommendation, but all mention of the Palmolein Case was wiped off Thomas's bio-data. There seems to have been a deliberate attempt to clear Thomas's record starting in 2004. The Manmohan Singh ministry took office in 2004. Draw your own inferences.' The United Colours of the tainted UPA
'Will Sonia Gandhi use the argument of retaining power in Delhi to over-ride her party's chances in Tamil Nadu, corruption be damned?' How gigantic sums of public money are being lost
BSNL shall be bankrupt by the end of 2011, Indian Railways is bleeding; Air India has run up a total debt of Rs 40,000 crore. UN gaffes are not rare
Gaffes in the UN create some red faces and send a few chuckles around, but do not harm anyone as each country's position is known and the situation can easily be retrieved. The DB Realty-DMK puzzle
'The CBI suspects A Raja of favouring Swan Telecom, a wing of DB Realty. A chain of firms connected to DB Realty transferred over Rs 200 crore to a television network connected to M Karunanidhi's immediate family....' The case for CVC P J Thomas
If the UPA or the Opposition wants the CVC out it must use due process of law, not insult and innuendo. Prosecute him if he is guilty, praise him if he is innocent, but at all costs respect the office that he holds, says T V R Shenoy. Why is the UPA so unprepared for economic crisis?
'This is how it works in Delhi. Step One: Wait for a shortage to develop. Step Two: Run around squawking until the deafest trader on the global markets has had the message drummed into his ears. Step Three: Engage in panic buying from abroad at suitably inflated prices.' Greed is good; excessive greed even better
'Is it too much when senior -- very senior -- politicians fear the law so little that they accept payment through cheques, something that can be easily traced?'