Naidu & Pawan have divided roles in Tirupati laddu row & Congress’ Pai problem | Powertrip #72

In this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna, we tell you why the Tirupati laddu adulteration issue is making the headlines now even though Chandrababu Naidu had the lab reports two months back. In Karnataka, one member of a government advisory committee has been facing opposition from some quarters. And in Tamil Nadu, the DMK regime faces embarrassment over gaffe upon gaffe by its legal team in the Madras Race Club lease termination case. Why did the new Advocate General PS Raman offer to resign? Read on to find out..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.Tirupati laddu and Haryana pollsThe Tirupati laddu adulteration has been dominating news cycles. The TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance that’s in power in Andhra Pradesh has insisted that animal fat has been used to adulterate the ghee used in laddus (though the lab report is not conclusive) and have placed the blame squarely on the previous Jagan government for giving cheap tenders.Now what we have been told is that Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan have an understanding of what each one will speak about. Naidu has agreed to look at the technical side and explain the lab reports in press meets, and also counter any points raised by Jagan. Pawan meanwhile has taken on the role of invoking the emotional and religious side. And that’s why the man who has always claimed he is inspired by icons like Che Guevara and Periyar is now seen in the avatar of a devout Hindu making moving speeches on how Hindus have been hurt. Pawan apparently made it clear that he does not want to get into the technicalities of the report.What is even more interesting is the timing. The lab reports came in July but Naidu waited till September to talk about it. Sources in these parties say it’s all in time for the Haryana polls, till when the issue will be kept burning. As of now, the BJP faces anti-incumbency in the state which is dominated by issues related to farmers, wrestlers, and Jat reservation – all issues that won’t go BJP’s way. But the Tirupati laddu issue can help them turn the narrative, at least by a small margin. Remember how the BJP made Udhayanidhi’s comment on Sanatana Dharma a national issue? The same strategy is being used with the laddu, and this one has a higher emotional connect for sure..Why is a Congress critic on a Karnataka govt advisory committee?The Karnataka government is hoping that a recent decision taken by the Ministry of Large and Medium Industries does not blow up in its face. The Ministry has formed an advisory committee comprising eminent personalities such as Dr Devi Shetty, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Prashanth Prakash, Thomas Osha, Ron Kimball, Mohandas Pai, and Nikhil Kamath, to ensure timely progress on the Knowledge Health Innovation Research-City (KHIR-City) project. KHIR-City will span approximately 2,000 acres in the Bengaluru Rural district, with an estimated investment of over Rs 40,000 crore, and is expected to create around 1 lakh direct and indirect jobs.Now the problem is with one name – Mohandas Pai. The former co-founder of Infosys and Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services and Aarin Capital has been an open critic of the Congress. That’s actually a polite way to describe him. He has been quite a troll and also has been accused of peddling Hindutva politics. His appointment to the committee has irked a few, and many Congress supporters and pro-Kannada groups have been questioning the decision. Kannada language activists have no love lost for Pai as he has vehemently opposed any reservation for local residents in jobs.We spoke to people in the government who say they are keeping a watch on the situation and that the opposition to Pai has only been sporadic and largely on social media. The sources maintain that Pai is extremely qualified to be on the committee as he has experience in Infosys and Manipal, so they have decided not to act on the opposition for now..Did Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman offer to resign? The troubles for the DMK government in Tamil Nadu on the legal side are far from over. TNM has reported in the past about how the performance of the legal team had caused huge embarrassment to the DMK regime. In an attempt to set things right, the government had in January appointed senior counsel PS Raman as the state’s Advocate General. However, the confusion in the legal department persists.On September 9, the TN government terminated the 99-year-long lease granted to the Madras Race Club (MRC) in 1946 with respect to 160.86 acres of land in Guindy.When MRC approached the Madras High Court division bench against the TN government’s action, Justices SS Sundar and K Rajasekar came down heavily on the government for attempting to take possession of the MRC within two days of issuing a Government Order (GO) and for premature termination of the lease agreement. The court took serious issue with the way in which the GO was worded and termed the TN government’s action “illegal and high-handed.”AG PS Raman told the court that the TN government was yet to take possession of the MRC land and that separate proceedings will be initiated to terminate the lease.However, senior counsel and Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson appearing on behalf of the Revenue Secretary in another application filed by MRC said that the government had already taken possession of the land.Wilson’s statement created a flutter in legal circles, leading everyone to wonder how he termed the submission made by the AG wrong.Sources told TNM that the AG was furious. While some sources say he offered to resign, others close to him said he was on the verge of doing it but didn’t. The AG apparently said that there was no need for Wilson to appear separately on behalf of the Revenue Secretary when he himself was representing the state government.The government has assured the AG that appropriate instructions will be given to officials and the confusion will be sorted out. When the MRC case came up for hearing on September 23, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran appeared in the morning before the single judge and said that the TN government stands by the statements made by the AG. A few hours later, the case came up for hearing, and senior counsel Dushyant Dave and Wilson appeared for the Revenue Department. Dave said that the AG had made an inadvertent error and it was a “misconception on the part of the Advocate General itself.”The flip-flop has caused major embarrassment for the DMK government.We spoke to some lawyers who said that if the AG was wrong, the government should have instructed him to correct his statement instead of letting it play out in court..Zero HourA political story of public importance.Tailored To Fit: Two Lucrative Power Tenders By BJP-Ruled States Favour Adani Group .The terms in the tenders by Rajasthan and Maharashtra, which have identical criteria, are tailored to match Adani Group’s operations and ground plans. The group has already bagged one contract and is the frontrunner for the other. The massive contracts bind states to buy power for 25 years..PowermovesTop 5 political stories.1. Propriety and secularism in question as Karnataka courts host Ganesh celebrations2. 'Egregious error’: SC overturns Madras HC judgement on child sexual abuse material3. Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration row: What the lab reports say4. The story of a Kerala govt school with over 85% migrant students5. Telangana CM unveils Rajiv Gandhi’s statue, dares BRS to touch it

Naidu & Pawan have divided roles in Tirupati laddu row & Congress’ Pai problem | Powertrip #72

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