Sidhu writes to CM Amarinder, says his constituency is being ignored

MGR in saffron shawl

A statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M G Ramachandran was found draped with a saffron shawl in Puducherry, sparking a furore, which crossed over to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Anbalagan, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLA in Puducherry, staged a protest and even raised the issue in the House. Party co-coordinator and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami condemned it as a “barbaric” act. The MGR episode came days after social reformer Periyar’s statue in Coimbatore was smeared with saffron paint, leading to the arrest of a fringe Hindu outfit functionary. As the situation threatened to go out of control, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy stepped in to reassure the protesters that quick action would be taken against the culprits.

Sidhu’s road map

After lying low for almost a year, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu (pictured) has broken his silence. In a letter to Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh over the weekend, the former cricketer alleged his constituency was being ignored after his resignation from the Cabinet. He had resigned last year following a spat with the CM. Citing several “stalled” projects in his constituency, the MLA from Amritsar East said in his letter it was “unfortunate but true” that nothing had moved in his constituency since he resigned in June last year. He did make some noise in March this year, when he launched his YouTube channel, Jittega Punjab (Punjab will win), and had said that he would be preparing a road map to resurrect his state but nothing much happened after that. Following his letter, some in the CM’s team said they were waiting for that road map.

Who will buy?

Mumbai's Lower Parel and Worli areas are witnessing a sharp fall in real estate prices with flats that flaunted a price tag of Rs 4 crore a year ago not fetching even Rs 3 crore now. Builders say an oversupply of residential apartments in a highly congested area has led to such a pass. The matter has reached such a state that one of the builders has had to hand over an entire multi-storeyed building to its financier, a non-banking financial company (NBFC). The residential tower, which is now almost ready, will be converted into a commercial building by the NBFC. The problem is that there are no takers even for commercial spaces at the moment.