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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

Measured Authority

In his first pronouncement since taking the oath as India’s 52nd Chief Justice, Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai has made his presence felt with surgical precision. The Supreme Court led by CJI Gavai struck down a decades-old land transfer by the Maharashtra government, declaring it illegal. The case, long marred by allegations of corruption, centres around forest land in Pune transferred in 1998 to private developers under dubious circumstances. Now, with this judgment, the land must return to its rightful custodian, the forest department.


The Bench minced no words in attributing blame, pointing to the alarming speed with which the land’s use was altered. In India’s notoriously slow and opaque system, where even clear violations of environmental and land-use law are often papered over, the judgment is a stark rebuke.


CJI Gavai’s debut verdict is a clear declaration of his intent. For a system that frequently bows to the pressures of powerful interests, his intervention reminds the establishment that the law still has teeth. A Buddhist and the son of a Republican Party of India stalwart, Justice Gavai is only the second Dalit to helm the apex court. That he began his tenure by holding the powerful to account is significant in more ways than one.


Deeply shaped by the egalitarian ideals of B.R. Ambedkar, Gavai has long been known for his constitutional scholarship and practical jurisprudence. His legal journey - from government pleader in Nagpur to the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court - has been devoid of fanfare, yet rich in substance. Despite having authored nearly 300 judgments, his reputation is not for grandstanding but for clarity and precision. He was part of the Bench that upheld the government’s controversial demonetisation policy in 2016, as well as the one that recently dismantled the opaque electoral bonds scheme. His record signals a jurist who neither slavishly upholds state power nor recklessly subverts it, but examines each case on its constitutional merits.


Forest land has often been the currency in India’s political economy, quietly traded to cement patronage networks. The 1998 decision by the Maharashtra government is but one among hundreds across states where environmental safeguards were flouted under political pressure or bureaucratic collusion. The message from the top bench now is that such impunity will no longer be tolerated.


Justice Gavai’s background only adds weight to this message. His father, R.S. Gavai, was not just a parliamentarian and governor, but a lifelong voice for the marginalised. That legacy now echoes in the highest echelons of India’s judiciary. Prominent voices in the legal fraternity have already lauded the Chief Justice as being pragmatic and results-oriented. His first judgment lives up to that billing.


With just over six months in office, CJI Gavai has limited time but ample opportunity. If his opening salvo is any guide, India may be in for a phase of principled pragmatism where legality is reasserted not with flourish, but with firmness.

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