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I ask whimsical questions | Public Policy Nerd | Author: #Parliamental | Youtuber | Longform content evangelist | LAMP Fellow
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Jan 30 12 tweets 3 min read
in case you missed what was happening in that #ChandigarhMayorElection video, here's a thread breaking it down frame by frame.

🧵thread Presiding Officer (PO) gets up from chair after "invalidating" with the opposition votes.

you can see the BJP Mayor candidate being rushed in. Image
Jan 13 6 tweets 2 min read
I've been on a journey to document what modi government has done in the last decade.

a thread 👇 why modi is everything everywhere all at once

how modi's 'brand' and its attributes are an absolute trainwreck for governing the country

Dec 8, 2023 11 tweets 5 min read
was going through the ethics committee report on Mahua Moitra's expulsion and found that stuff like THIS is being used as "evidence".

See no. 6. It's a question about allowing free and efficient trade between India & Bangladesh.

The reason given is Hiranandani has invested in Bangladesh so he wants free movement. 🤯

This evidence was given by Jai Anant Dehadrai to the committee and there are a lot more hastily scanned instances in the report of this.
Image "They (Mahua Moitra & Darshan Hiranandani) would talk secretly on the phone... she would take calls on the speaker. So I would end up hearing these conversations."

ok then. Image
Oct 31, 2023 7 tweets 3 min read
The ruling party (BJP) has received more than 5000 cr in donations through electoral bonds. The permissible limit for spending on elections in Lok Sabha is about 1 crore per candidate.

If BJP fields candidates in all constituencies, it will be max 545 crore that can be spent overall on Lok Sabha elections.

BJP has already received more than 10x of the permissible spending limit through electoral bonds in these 5 years. How is this allowed?

(I'm paraphrasing an argument made by Prashant Bhushan in SC) The govt claimed during demonetization that they want to reduce the use of cash and turn India into a cashless society. But that doesn't seem to apply to political parties.

Parties and candidates standing for elections spend more than the permissible amount, but in cash or via proxies. The EC has admitted that it can't catch such candidates because they spend in cash.

If you want to reduce cash in politics and elections, just make a simple amendment saying 'cash spending by candidates during elections amounts to corruption'.

Instead of doing that, they have brought electoral bonds to donate to parties anonymously.

(I'm paraphrasing Prashant Bhushan's arguments in SC)
Oct 30, 2023 10 tweets 3 min read
ok frenz, the electoral bonds hearing is coming up in Supreme Court tomorrow and it is going to be one of THE most crucial judgments that the SC has ever delivered.

If you are someone who doesn't know why, this is an oversimplified thread for you. 👀 👉 Electoral Bonds what?

it's a piece of paper that anyone can buy from a bank and give it to a political party. the political party can then go to the bank and get money in return for that piece of paper.

simply put, it's a currency that only political parties can use.
Sep 16, 2023 17 tweets 2 min read
frens I have witnessed #jawan and here is the review you have all been waiting for... SRK does direct benefit transfer of black money to all jan dhan accounts
Aug 10, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
This bill has been listed for introduction in Rajya Sabha today.

It is going to change the way the Chief Election Commissioner & ECs are appointed.

Here is how it will do that 🧵 Image In a recent Supreme Court case, the court declared that the appointment of CEC & EC will be done by a committee consisting of:

1) Prime Minister
2) Leader of Opposition (or leader of largest party in opposition)
3) Chief Justice of India

The bill mentions this too. Image
May 21, 2023 8 tweets 2 min read
2000 rupee note is being withdrawn

Here's the real reason why the 2000 rupee note is going away

You will not believe the genius of Modiji behind this move

A 🧵 thread 🧵 Everyone made fun of Adarniya Modiji when he said that demonetisation will remove corruption in bharat

You under estimate Modiji and don't know real plan. I will tell you real plan

READ ON

In 2016 when the corrupts were everywhere because of Cong, Modiji did demo they panic
Mar 23, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
ok so here is why the entire "Rahul Gandhi is insulting desh by speaking bad about desh in other desh" controversy is frightfully and mind-numblingly stupid.

🧵 1) LOG KYA KAHENGE OMG!

This whole thing reeks of neighborhood RWA uncle/aunty behavior. We all know those olds that think everyone else's opinion about you matters more than your own opinion about your own self.

Expand that to country level and that is what is happening here.
Mar 23, 2023 5 tweets 1 min read
thinking of deleting my twitter account permanently just like i thought about it yesterday
Dec 23, 2022 4 tweets 1 min read
Petition to hold an MLA & MP auctions on the lines of #IPL2023Auction.

Advantages:
> Everyone knows who is backing an elected representative
> The value of the a representative is decided based on how he/she delivers to the backers
> Possibility of crowdfunding MORE Advantages:

> Rich folks can finally breathe easy
> Poor folks can at least know what rich folk are upto
> EC can give out broadcasting rights to channels & earn monies
> Monies from sponsors can be put back into conducting elections
> A fun spectacle for citizens to watch
Jul 25, 2022 8 tweets 2 min read
People keep asking: Why does TV news keep doing Hindu-Muslim debates? Don't they have better things to debate?

Here are the reasons.

#Thread 👇 📺 It's Cheap!

Putting 8 people on a panel and paying them 3-12K per appearance (or free!) is way cheaper than investigating an event or doing a proper 1 hour produced story.

All they have to do is have an anchor that makes em scream at each other. So damn cheap.
Jul 24, 2022 29 tweets 7 min read
Join in!
twitter.com/i/spaces/1MYxN… Whole bunch of amazing recommendation today!

Here's a list 👇
Apr 26, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
Few weeks ago I had said that the three mayors of Delhi will do crazy shit for two years to get attention because they are all facing a political existential threat.

Like this... BJP has passed a law to merge and take over the MCD. Now there would be one single powerful mayor, instead of three.

So people like Mukkesh Suryaan are going nuts to stay relevant.
Feb 28, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
Take a walk around Gorakhpur to see how much UP has been 'developed' by the number 1 CM.

Scratch that... just walk around the Gorakhnath Mandir where Adityanath lives and you'll see open drains + garbage everywhere. You can see sewage spilling out of the temple into open drains that flow into residences in Adityanath's ward.

Drip feed of propaganda by paid media has managed to hide this reality from the world.

THIS is what Kerala should learn from UP? Seriously?
Feb 18, 2022 10 tweets 2 min read
The political situation in #Punjab is quite funny and interesting.

Here's a simplified thread for those who are trying to figure out WTF is going on: In multiple constituencies, Congress candidates and ex-congress candidates and their family members and relatives are busy trying to backstab each other.

Bohot bawaal ho raha hai by god. If you go seat by seat to figure out these micro-battles, you'll go bonkers.
Feb 15, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Sansad TV youtube channel was hacked and the name was changed to Ethereum.

Channel has been terminated.

(Image via @redditindia: reddit.com/gallery/ssiv5c) Last video posted was 9 hours ago. Link redirects to a channel that doesn't exist.

Strangely enough, no updates have been given from their Twitter handle.

Nov 25, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
Want to see something funny?

This is how the draft 2019 bill defines #cryptocurrency.

If this is the definition they'll go by in the new bill too, you can guess how absolutely bonkers the new law is going to be. In case you missed it, this definition would technically cover Fortnite money as well. Or Assassin's Creed money. Or PUBG money. Or any other 'information or code or number or token' which has inherent value.

Fun times.
Sep 8, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
Say hello to India Today Group's latest offering -- Good News Today.

It was launched by Kalli Purie who threw a giant ball of swirling energy into a wall and CGI Helicopters belched out the words "GNT" in the sky.

Not kidding.
#Thread They have shows like "Chai Par Charcha" (not to be confused with Adarniya Modiji's Chai pe Charcha).

Here, 5 anchors (yes FIVE) assemble to give "good news" while eating samosa and jalebis while discussing what they are eating at length.
May 11, 2021 5 tweets 1 min read
Republic TV did a show yesterday on the garbage conspiracy theory that Coronavirus is a bioweapon that came from China.

Feel like this is a test baloon being released to see audience reactions. Desperately trying to shift blame from the Modi govt. Remember last year when they did all the SSR nonsense for months?

If TV media picks this bioweapon trash conspiracy theory up and blows it up, giving it coverage consistently, we're doomed.
May 6, 2021 4 tweets 1 min read
Here's how political violence in Bengal works, in short:

When CPIM was in power, some party people left the party and joined TMC. Then CPIM unleashed violence on TMC.

When TMC came to power, they unleashed violence on CPIM. For revenge and also for territorial control. When CPIM lost relevance, bunch of pissed off beaten & battered CPIM people joined BJP. Then TMC unleashed hell on BJP.

Essentially, ex-CPIM-ex-TMC-ex-BJP people are unleashing violence on current-CPIM-TMC-BJP workers, depending on who won in which area of Bengal.