Politics News Updates

Naveen
How Yellow Can Yellow Journalism Get?

As cases of yellow journalism go, this was a particularly deep shade of yellow. For those who don’t know, here is the whole story. Naradanews.com, a web portal headed by former Tehelka editor Matthew Samuel, ran a story on its site claiming Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is suffering from ‘chronic grade 4 liver cirrhosis’ and […]

  • Thursday, 10 June 2021
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The Heat is On: Doomsday Not Far off

By Sandeep Sahu The forecast is scary. Maximum temperature in Odisha this summer is likely to be 0.9 Celsius higher than ‘normal’. Coming as it did a year after what has now been universally accepted as the ‘hottest year’ on earth since 1880, the forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday must […]

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A Farmer-unfriendly Govt Is A Recipe for Disaster

By Sandeep Sahu Even for those like this author who have nothing at stake on the issue, the images of tons of fresh tomatoes being crushed under the massive wheels of a truck in Keonjhar town on Monday were nothing short of heart-rending. Just imagine the state of mind of the farmer who, after spending […]

MODi
A Case of Selective Outrage

By Sandeep Sahu Four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Odisha as a ‘showpiece’ of poverty, starvation and unemployment at an election meeting in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, the controversy over the rather unfortunate – and completely unwarranted – comment is showing no signs of abating any time soon. There is a lot of anger […]

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Gender Parity Has a Long Way to Go in Odisha Media

When it comes to the portrayal of women, the media in Odisha has certainly come a long way in the last couple of decades. There is a lot more sensitivity in reporting issues related to women these days than there ever was. Gone are the days when rape cases would be reported – complete with […]

  • Thursday, 10 June 2021
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‘Selfie with Ghost’ and Other Tales

Time, they say, is precious. But we Indians – middle class Indians, to be more precise – obviously have plenty of time on our hands, enough to while away in mindless, meaningless and absolutely frivolous pursuits. Two entirely unconnected incidents – one in Bhubaneswar and the second in Mumbai (Twitter actually) over the last couple […]

  • Thursday, 10 June 2021
Secretariat
The ‘Third Floor’ Conundrum

Among the many contributions of Naveen Patnaik to the political lexicon of Odisha is the term ‘Third Floor’. While the term itself is of recent origin, the place it refers to has always been there. It is just that it was known as the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) earlier. No one really knows how the […]

  • Thursday, 10 June 2021
Panchayat poll results
Time to Junk Delusion, Get Real for BJD

By Sandeep Sahu What a turn-around it has been! In five days flat, the BJD, which deluded itself – and persuaded many others to believe likewise – that it is destined to rule till eternity, has been yanked off the high pedestal it had perched itself on and brought down to the ground with a […]

Naveen
Can Naveen Swim Against the Current?

Just for the heck of it, I posted this poser on my Facebook wall last evening: “Shall we ever see Naveen Patnaik gracing the Opposition benches?” The responses started coming in a torrent and have not stopped even now, numbering 45 at the last count. But what was noteworthy was that not even one of […]

Voting panchayat
'Partyless' Panchayat Polls: End the Hypocrisy

By Sandeep Sahu Everyone knows it is a blatant lie, but no one really seems to mind. The lie that panchyat elections are ‘not fought on party basis’ has been perpetuated for far too and it is high time it was given a decent – and permanent – burial. Of course, there are other myths […]

Naveen
Course Correction Time for BJD

By Sandeep Sahu The ‘unofficial’ seat count in the first phase zilla parishad election given by television news channels on Monday evening varied widely. If Kalinga TV showed the BJD winning 120 out of the 188 zilla parishad zones that went to polls earlier in the day, News 7 gave the ruling party winning no […]

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BJP has scored a self-goal by inviting Raman Singh

Has the BJP shot itself in the foot by inviting Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh to campaign for the forthcoming Panchayat polls in Odisha? By the looks of it, it appears it has. And it has nothing to do with what Raman Singh said or did not say during his whistle-stop tour through Western […]

  • Thursday, 10 June 2021
World of transgenders
The Little Known World of Transgenders

By Sandeep  Sahu Think of transgenders and the images that come flashing across the mind are those of garishly painted wannabe women landing up at your place for the customary bakhsis whenever there a birth in the family, seeking to fleece unsuspecting people in trains, bus stops and other public places with their nauseating antics […]

house hunting
House Hunting in Bhubaneswar (II)

By Sandeep Sahu Having announced to the snooping landlord that I would be checking out the next day, I was determined not to return without finding a new accommodation, but did not know where to find one. Early next morning, I went to the Vani Vihar campus and was sitting at my favourite place in […]

BIJOY-MOHAPATRA
The Importance of Being Bijoy Mohapatra

By Sandeep Sahu He fits the expression ‘an enigma wrapped in a mystery’ like very few politicians in Odisha do. It is hard to think of another neta who remains relevant without being a minister, a party chief or even an MLA. In fact, he has not seen the inside of the Assembly in the […]

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