Mahesh Vijapurkar
No April Fool's Day joke: Finnish PM had flown sitting on a toilet seat but our MPs want business class
The Prime Minister of Finland flew in an ambulance flight to reach his destination on a toilet seat: This may look like an April Fool's joke, but to make sure this wasn't a prank, a check revealed that this news initially came out in November 2015.
Ravindra Gaikwad row: Here's why Shiv Sena MP chose a road trip to reach Delhi
Why Ravindra Gaikwad preferred a car to a train from Mumbai to reach the national capital is not stated but one could hazard a remote guess.
Mohan Bhagwat for President: Shiv Sena's choice reeks of mischief, but may force BJP to seek options
Shiv Sena's choice of Mohan Bhagwat for the President of India post is a clever ploy to tease the BJP, one the party has engaged in ever since it ended up as the second fiddle in the Maharashtra Assembly Election of 2014
Remembering Govind Talwalkar: A stalwart in journalism, whom readers will miss
Govind Talwalkar, the long-time editor of Maharashtra Times passed away on Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an eminent journalist and a titan in Marathi journalism.
Mumbai: Arbitrary change of suburban station names serves no purpose until history is delved into
Why should Charni Road be Girgaum when there is nothing British about Charni? It is very much an Indian word in origin and idea, named so because it contained land on which cattle would graze
India's healthcare system needs a tweak in ethics instead of policy change
The National Health Policy has been cleared and the view persists that it falls short of the 2015 draft. The Indian Express says, while marshalling the fine details, that it “fails to make health a justiciable right in the way the Right to Education 2005 did for school education.”
UP Election Result 2017: Drama around Akhilesh Yadav's response to a hypothetical situation puts media in a bad light
In Uttar Pradesh, it is not clear whether the BJP would form the next government or Samajwadi Party would retain it, though the exit polls have generated enough speculation.
Why dynasties, 'first families' that plague Indian politics are antithetical to democracy
Political dynasties are a disease which debilitate the democracy by concentrating power and wealth within a few families.
Arvind Kejriwal's dream of making Delhi 'look like London' should involve all stakeholders and drastic changes
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will make Delhi “look like London”, if it wins the Delhi Municipal Corporation election to be held in April.
World BanK CEO Kristalina Georgieva boards Mumbai train: Will the promised $1 bn improve commuting experience?
World Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva, on Tuesday, hopped onto a Mumbai local train and as media reports go, she wanted to get a feel of the local commuter train system, known as the super-dense crowd carrier.
BMC Election 2017: Will BJP consolidate its gains for 2019 or be hegemonic on local bodies?
The ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra has reached a fork in the road. Should it take the path to power in the local bodies, the elections for which were recently held, by making compromises or strive to grow by staying true to itself and its ambitions?
BMC Election 2017: BJP should stay away from seeking power in the MCGM
The moment has arrived and the BJP has to decide between two choices.
BMC Election 2017: The complicated history of Shiv Sena, BJP — from friends to enemies to frenemies
It is of note that the Shiv Sena did not take out impromptu victory rallies on Thursday, celebrating its 84 seats in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. It is as if there is some prompt introspection about the decision, for they stand to lose control of the civic body, unless there is some post-poll tie-up with some other party.
BMC Election 2017: BJP and Shiv Sena might not want to admit it, but they need each other
Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena are neck and neck in the number of seats won in the BMC election. The BJP picked up a lot more seats than before, but fell short of taking control of the civic affairs, its stated ambition. It is not good news for Devendra Fadnivas, BJP, Uddhav Thackeray or Shiv Sena.
BMC Election 2017: Record turnout in Shiv Sena vs BJP battle raises more questions than answers
The statistic of 55.28 percent is, therefore, mindboggling because Mumbai had seen a turnout as low as 42.1 percent in 2002. So, why? What dragged the reluctant citizen to the polling booth?
BMC Election 2017: Patronage from corporators brings slum-dwellers to the polls in droves
When votes are counted on 23 February to determine who will represent which civic ward in Mumbai, the chances are more slum-dwellers will have cast their votes than those who don't live in slums
BMC Election 2017: BJP's demand for ban on Shiv Sena's Saamana is a regressive move
A demand has come forth, perhaps the first of its kind, from a political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, that the newspaper Saamana, owned by a Shiv Sena-promoted trust, be banned for three days during the final stages of the civic bodies’ elections in Maharashtra. This is, to say the least, a regressive move and the BJP is not entitled to any accolades even if it were in the interests of a level-playing field between the two parties.
DA case verdict: Is Jayalalithaa's true legacy methodical corruption or the welfare schemes?
That brings us to the question, what is the legacy that Jayalalithaa leaves behind? One, of social welfare that she ensured in the state for which people are grateful, especially the lowest income strata; or two, of the methodical corruption?
Sasikala convicted: Who inherits Amma's political legacy as Chinnamma will cool her heels in prison?
If J Jayalalithaa was still alive, she would have been convicted, and Sasikala, the self-proclaimed heir apparent, would have been one rung below the supremo in the order of conviction from the two-member bench of the Supreme Court.
Shiv Sena vs BJP: Uddhav Thackeray is back to threatening 'arrogant' NDA ally
'Arrogance'. This a word Uddhav Thackeray has begun using to describe the attitude of the Bharatiya Janata Party with which his party, the Shiv Sena, is in government