Coomi Kapoor
Coomi Kapoor has been a journalist for the last four decades. Her forte has been political reporting. She has witnessed the shifting
power equations in the capital — from Indira Gandhi’s regime to the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party. She is presently contributing editor to The Indian Express. Earlier, she worked for the newspaper as chief reporter, special correspondent and editor, Delhi. Coomi has worked in several publications in different capacities. She was principal correspondent, India Today, editor news, Sunday Mail, bureau chief, Indian Post and political editor, Illustrated Weekly. She has been writing a political diary in a lighter vein since 1985 and her syndicated column was carried by many newspapers. She was also stringer for The Times, London, and columnist for The Star, Malaysia.
Articles By Coomi Kapoor
Govt’s decision to convert Parliament House into a museum is not without reason
The government’s decision to convert the historic Parliament House, built in 1927, into a museum is not without reason. Signs of ageing of the iconic circular structure have been apparent for some time.
Inside Track: Is NSA Ajit Doval up or down in the Modi-2 regime?
At times, when Doval issues instructions to the IB chief or other agency heads, he is informed that they have to first check with Shah. On the other hand, there is physical evidence that Doval’s clout is expanding in other areas.
Speaking out of turn in Congress has become the norm
The last time Congress party's Disciplinary Committee took any meaningful action was the revocation of the suspension against Mani Shankar Aiyar over a year ago.
Renaming of Kotla stadium after Arun Jaitley was a hasty show
The DDCA only leases the land. After first making the announcement, Sharma had to clarify later that the name of the ground remained unchanged, only the stadium was named after the former president of the DDCA, who was responsible for remodelling and modernising the stadium.
Inside Track: Super fast track
Apart from the concerned secretary from the IFS, Sanjay Kothari, the President’s Secretary, and E L S N Bala Prasad, the President’s Special Secretary, went with him.
Keep Calm and Humour On
The hoi polloi he dubs as the “masoor paavs”, those who gobble their masoor dal with smelly cut onions and suck the marrow from bones using their hands, rather than an elegant marrow spoon.
As Home Minister, Amit Shah is now in charge of the police force in Jammu and Kashmir
At Arun Jaitley’s funeral at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat, the VVIPs, whether chief ministers or Central ministers, did not try to pull rank but mingled freely with other mourners.
A man of open heart and mind, Arun Jaitley had friends across divide
Jaitley was dogged by ill health soon after he took oath in 2014. He fought his health issues with fortitude and courage and never let the world know of the many medical setbacks he faced.
Arun Jaitley hoped to pull through till end
An acute diabetic for long, he had a heart bypass two decades back. In September 2014, in the first Modi government, the BJP leader was advised a bariatric operation to reduce his weight and help control his diabetes.
It was a major social faux pas at the President’s At Home at Rashtrapati Bhavan on I-Day
President Ram Nath Kovind left his own party before the guests could even partake a morsel. That the President was leaving was amply clear since the military band played the national anthem, which is done only after the event winds up.
Inside Track: Savarkar No RSS Fan
During the famine of the 1950s, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar advocated that vegetarians should take to eating fish and eggs. The radical reformist Savarkar and RSS chief M S Golwalkar never really got along.
Happily Never After
Tracing the tragedy of Sunanda Pushkar’s life
Inside track: BJP leadership seems to have been inspired by Indira Gandhi
The leadership seems to have been inspired by Indira Gandhi, who, half a century ago, enforced bank nationalisation and abolished privy purses to demonstrate to the poor that the government would not spare the rich.
‘Congress’ heads BJP – an embarrassing secret from Swatantra Dev Singh’s past
Descendants of most of the old Congress families in UP are now in the BJP
Amit Shah has mounted an ambitious gameplan to trigger enough defections in Rajya Sabha by year-end
The BJP is focused on Uttar Pradesh since any MP who resigns will automatically be re-elected to the Upper House on a BJP ticket with the help of its large numbers in the state Assembly. Two BSP MPs and two SP MPs have been earmarked as potential targets.
With Rahul Gandhi’s resignation, there is a big question mark over who is in charge of the Congress
The president’s resignation is effective only after it is accepted by the Congress Working Committee (CWC). But no one is sure who has the authority to call a CWC meeting.
PM Modi should caution all BJP politicians who assume they have the licence to throw their weight around
Swaran Singh was Defence Minister and he banged his car into a man driving a scooter. The next day Singh sent a member of his staff to their house and asked if they would like to register a police complaint against him since he was driving the car.
Inside Track: Rahul Gandhi’s decision to quit has left Congress in limbo
The old guard is pushing three names for president — Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Gehlot and Sushil Kumar Shinde — since they are considered loyalists and have the requisite experience. Kharge’s performance as the party's leader in the previous Lok Sabha gives him an edge, particularly as he is from the south.
It is unlikely that Emergency will return, but eternal vigilance is the price for freedom
Authoritarianism does not necessarily come about like Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in one fell swoop. Dictatorships sometimes creep in slowly and insidiously without any official declaration. The health of a democracy is judged by several parameters.
Inside Track: Modi’s choices
Modi does not go by the traditional logic of job suitability. More than language skills and parliamentary experience, Om Birla was rewarded for outstanding social work and public service in his constituency.