Anti CAA narrative brings kin together; Akhilesh, Shivpal express support

With the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) setting the political narrative in the country, smaller and fringe parties have found a perfect opportunity to get attention. One such is the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) headed by Shivpal Singh Yadav (pictured). However, for the estranged uncle of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, this is also an opportunity to express solidarity with his nephew and explore reconciliation with the rest of the clan as some put it. Shivpal, aka chacha, recently said that vested interests were “fanning communalism in the name of nationalism under the garb of the CAA” and that his party would make every effort to thwart the nefarious designs of such protesters. In saying so, he found himself on the same page as Akhilesh, who, recently flagged off a cycle march of Samajwadi Party MLAs against the CAA, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. Is something brewing in UP’s first political family?

Two in one
 

To separate or not to separate is the dilemma faced by many Indian promoters whose companies have not split the offices of chairman and managing director (MD). A promoter of a conglomerate who had stepped down as executive chairman following a mandate by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is thinking of seeking legal opinion on whether he can be reinstated after the regulator gave an indication that it was thinking of postponing the March 31 deadline for listed companies to separate the two positions. A second firm which had appointed a head hunter to search for a managing director has put its plan on hold and is likely to allow the promoter to continue as chairman and MD. Almost half the top 500 listed companies appear unprepared to meet the current Sebi deadline.

Relax! It’s not about JNU 
 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement — that the “tukde tukde” gang did not exist when he was a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) — in response to a question on the recent violence in the university campus expectedly grabbed eyeballs earlier this week. The afterstory was just as interesting. It so happened that immediately after Jaishankar’s remark, the microphone was passed on to a questioner who happened to be a JNU student. As she identified herself and said that she was enrolled in the International Relations programme, there was an awkward silence, followed by nervous laughter in the audience. The woman clarified that her question was not about JNU and she proceeded to probe the minister on India-China relations.