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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Modi’s ‘Melody’ diplomacy stuns the world

Overjoyed investors buy shares of a wrong company after the PM’s gift Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifting his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni 'Melody' toffees, reviving the light-hearted "Melodi" wordplay associated with the two leaders on social media. Meloni thanked Modi and shared a video on the social media in which she could be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee - Melody.” Modi, who was also seen in the video, burst...

Modi’s ‘Melody’ diplomacy stuns the world

Overjoyed investors buy shares of a wrong company after the PM’s gift Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifting his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni 'Melody' toffees, reviving the light-hearted "Melodi" wordplay associated with the two leaders on social media. Meloni thanked Modi and shared a video on the social media in which she could be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee - Melody.” Modi, who was also seen in the video, burst into laughter as Meloni jokingly referred to the "Melody" toffee while showcasing the gift. The hashtag "Melodi", a blend of Modi and Meloni's names, was coined by the Italian prime minister during the COP28 in Dubai in 2023 and later went viral on social media following the warm interactions between the two leaders at global events. Modi, who arrived in Rome on Tuesday, is on the final leg of his five-nation tour to the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy from May 15-20. Modi’s gift not only floored the social media, but also earned gushing gratitude from the manufacturer of the sweet candy, Parle Products, in Vile Parle, Mumbai. “Thank You. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for taking Parle Melody to the global stage. A proud moment for all of us at Parle Products to see an Indian favourite being shared across borders,” said a social media post from @ParleFamily, a 97-year-old company. Parle Products describes Melody: “Parle Melody brings to you an irresistible layer of caramel on the outside & a delightful chocolate filling inside. Open & pop it in your mouth & relish the unique experience. It won't be too long before you start asking yourself the age-old question "Melody Itni Chocolaty Kyun Hai?”.” Cong Attacks Modi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other Congress leaders also attacked Modi saying he continues his PR even when the economy is suffering. However, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hit back at Gandhi, accusing him of "hating India" and refusing to tolerate the "global respect" the country has garnered under Modi's leadership. Gandhi, who is on a visit to his constituency Raebareli and Amethi, said on X, "This isn't leadership, it's a gimmick." At a time farmers, labourers, traders and others in the country are all in tears, the prime minister is laughing and making reels while BJP folks are clapping along, the former Congress president said in his post in Hindi. "An economic storm is raging over our heads, and our prime minister is busy handing out candies in Italy!" he said. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge attacked Modi over issues of "rising" prices, unemployment, paper leaks, "dampening" investment and "sinking" Rupee, saying the prime minister continues his PR even as the economy is suffering. Shares turn sweet but the company was mistaken Shares of Parle Industries Ltd saw frenzied buying on Wednesday, surging five per cent to hit the upper circuit limit after Meloni posted the video. Investors wasted no time and flocked to the counter to buy the stock. Shares of the firm jumped to Rs 5.25 - the highest trading permissible limit for the day - on the BSE. On volume terms, 8.57 lakh shares of the firm were traded on the BSE during the day. But, there is a catch! Investors mistook Parle Industries for the maker of Melody toffees. Parle Products, the FMCG major, is the manufacturer of Melody toffees and is not listed on the stock exchanges. Parle Industries Ltd is a diversified commercial services provider, engaged in the business of infrastructure & real estate, and paper, waste paper and allied products. The history of swadeshi toffee is entwined with the country’s Independence and the company, House of Parle was founded in 1928 by Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan, a tailor from Pardi near Valsad, then part of the Bombay Province. As the country was flooded with imported sweets and confectionery, he decided to give it a ‘desi’ touch and flavour, and with a band of 12 workers, he launched the Parle products from a musty old warehouse near Vile Parle east station, when large parts areas of Vile Parle west were still marshes dotted with a few old bungalows and chawls. Later, he visited Germany to master the art of confectionery and returned with machinery worth Rs 60,000 to churn out simple sweets, toffees and locally flavoured Indian confections at affordable prices – willy-nilly challenging the imported British offerings. It was in 1983 that the chocolate Melody toffee. -WITH PTI

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

The party won 65 seats against Congress, 37 against NCP (SP) and 29 against Shiv Sena (UBT)

Clever seat selection

Mumbai: The BJP’s strategic seat sharing with the allies has proved beneficial for the party. An analysis of the Assembly election results show that the BJP has scored over its main rival, the Congress, in a big way because of the direct fights.


The analysis shows that BJP defeated all three constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – in the direct fights. This is attributed as one of the reasons for the BJP’s historic poll success.


The BJP contested 147 out of 288 seats. In 76 constituencies, it faced Congress. BJP secured victory in 65 seats and lost only 11 seats, making it a whopping 86 per cent of the total direct fights. This was followed by an even stronger performance against NCP (SP). Of the total 39 fights with Sharad Pawar’s party, BJP captured 37 seats making it 95 per cent of the total fights with NCP (SP). BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) were head-to-head in 32 constituencies, of which BJP emerged victorious in 29 seats, making this 91 per cent of the total direct contests.


According to a BJP strategist the party had bargained hard with its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP to get the desired constituencies in the seat sharing formula. “We had studied to potential candidates of the MVA. That helped us in choosing the seats where we can register comfortable victories,” the strategist said.


BJP spokesperson Niranjan Shetty attributed the success to all the party workers who worked hard to boost development, infrastructure in the state. He gave credit to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to the party’s success.


Shetty pointed out that in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stalled all the “novel” and “legendary” projects that Fadnavis had started when he had taken over as CM, making it very easy for the people of Maharashtra to strike a comparison between both the leaders and the potential they had for serving the people. “Devendra Fadnavis gave up his post very easily for the larger good. There are many such examples like Venkaiah Naidu who was BJP National President and later worked as the Vice President of India because that was the need of the hour. We seldom care about our posts,” Shetty told The Perfect Voice.


Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe refused to call the election results as the people’s mandate. “This is not at all a Janata mandate. Despite Maharashtra struggling with so many basic social issues, how can BJP acquire such a huge mandate is the question. If a student copies and fails with just passing marks, it can go unnoticed, but if a student copies and bags the number one position, something is fishy. Why is the BJP scared of ballot papers?” he said.

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