Five must-read stories—November 25

Has the PM won the first round?

“This is very bad news. Because it means that this Rs 5 lakh crore is not tainted. And if demonetised cash continues to gush in at this rate – 40% of the total hoard in just 10 days – and reaches anywhere near Rs 14 lakh crore by 31 December, the whole demonetisation manoeuvre would become a colossal flop. Why? Because scamsters would have managed to convert all their black money into white, routing the government at its own game!” In TheQuint.com.

Perils of tinkering with Jameen, Joru and Jeb

In The Tribune. “The Leader can disrupt the daily lives of the millions and millions of citizens but no citizen can have a right to share his/her plight or vent anger about being denied one's own money. On the other hand, the Prime Minister's Office uses the very social media to conduct an "opinion poll" of its own and claims wide public approval for the demonetisation move.”

Shatrughan Sinha withdraws tweet but questions ‘geniuses’

“First, who gave you the right to fix what amount of a person's hard-earned money he or she can withdraw? Second, it is wrong to equate black money with the savings made by women. Our mothers and sisters save money over many years... they give it to the family during weddings, for education or if somebody falls ill. The PM is not to be blamed. It's the geniuses.” The Telegraph reports.

Haryana probes cash transfer from Hisar

“According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau’s wing in Haryana received inputs about a man booking a chartered flight to Dimapur. They learnt that the man was carrying a huge amount of cash. A team of IB officials reached the Hisar aviation club at about 10:30 am on Tuesday. However, they learnt that the flight had left for Dimapur at 7:40 am. Aviation Club officials reportedly told IB officials that Singh was carrying heavy bags.” In The Indian Express.

KCR’s Guru sits on CM’s chair

“A video clip that officials from the chief minister's office shared with the media shows Rao asking the pontiff to sit in an imposing cream-coloured chair as a good omen. The guru looks a bit uncomfortable but sits in the chair. As he tries to rise after a few seconds and a few snapshots, Rao requests him to sit for a few seconds more. He then touches the pontiff's feet and seeks his permission to sit in the chair himself.” In The Telegraph.