A battle royale is raging in Tamil Nadu over the legacy of late chief minister and founder of the AIADMK, MG Ramachandran (MGR, as he was popularly known). The latest storm was kicked off by the Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijayakant. His party?s decision to dub him a ?black MGR? drew him into the thick of a controversy, with the AIADMK supremo
J Jayalalithaa taking strong exception to the honorary mantle accorded to him. In Jayalalithaa?s view, she is the official inheritor of the MGR legacy, and no one else can lay claim to it. So furious was she that she made an official and much-hyped trip to the late leader?s residence, just to reinforce her claim. Taking on the alleged ?usurpers? of MGR?s legacy, she even had this analogy to offer: ?You can make instant coffee, but not instant leaders in politics.? By Eavesdropper?s reckoning, the climax to this drama is yet to come. Might Tamil cinema have an opinion to offer?
No cess, please
We?re Indian. The whopping increase in tax collections is there for all to see these days, be it in Finance Minister
P Chidambaram?s speeches nowadays, or the numerous press releases issued by his ministry from time to time. But it has also led to expectations that the forthcoming Budget for fiscal 2008-09 will be soft on taxpayers. Could it be? Indeed, hears Eavesdropper. The tax authorities are so pleased with their bounty of collections that not only will there be no hike in tax rates, there will be no additional surcharge either. The chant that?s doing the corridors of North Block these days says it all: ?No cess, only excess!?