Butting heads

At the ongoing Monsoon session in the Bihar legislative council, the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, could not resist the urge of asking the leader of the Opposition and state Bharatiya Janata Party president, Samrat Choudhary, about the latter’s saffron turban. Nitish asked the BJP leader why he has been sporting the headgear for the past several months and when he would open it. Choudhary replied that he has tied the turban with a vow to remove Nitish from the chief ministerial position and would untie it only after doing so. He also sought the CM’s blessings in this endeavour. At this, Nitish laughed but did not extend his blessings. However, the Janata Dal (United) took umbrage at Choudhary’s remarks and asserted that the BJP chief has forgotten his manners. Significantly, leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal — the principal ally of the JD(U) — were unmoved by the incident and pointed out that the next CM would be the current deputy CM, Tejashwi Yadav, come what may. Notably, no BJP member could clarify whether Choudhary would remove the turban if Tejashwi becomes the CM, or wait till someone from his own party takes the position.

Pressure tactics

It is no secret that the Congress parliamentarian, DK Suresh, has always been in the shadow of his elder brother and deputy CM of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar. Suresh has been the go-to person for Shivakumar who has faced immense challenges to become the Number Two in the state government. Suresh has now expressed his desire to retire from politics with the intention of serving people in other ways.

He had previously refused an offer to contest the state assembly polls and recently declared his non-availability for the 2024 general elections. Many in the Congress have been wondering whether this is a pressure tactic to make sure that Shivakumar is elevated to the CM’s post after 30 months in office. While the supporters of the CM, PC Siddaramaiah, have denied any such power-sharing formula, it will not be surprising to see Shivakumar pressurise the party to get his share of the pie.

Dented image

The Manipur conflict is becoming a headache for the BJP in neighbouring Mizoram, which is headed for elections at the end of this year. The large-scale demolition of churches in Manipur since the violence erupted on May 3 has not gone down well in the Christian-majority Mizoram. Although the BJP is a minor player in the state, with a lone seat in the 40-member House, the unrest has further dented the saffron party’s prospects. This has been aggravated by the ruling Mizo National Front and leading civil society organisations extending their support to the demands of the displaced Kuki Zo people.

There has been disquiet within the BJP in Mizoram over the unrest. So much so that it not only condemned the Manipur government for failing to prevent the violence but also backed the demand of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs of Manipur for a separate administration. The BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha demanded the imposition of president’s rule in Manipur. In the latest instance, the BJP state vice-president, R Vanramchhuanga, resigned from his post in protest against the “criminal injustice” committed against Christians in Manipur. His primary concern was the demolition of 357 churches and related establishments and the fact that neither the state government nor the Centre — both are helmed by the BJP — have condemned it. He wrote in his resignation letter that the lack of condemnation made him believe that the vandalism was “supported by the state and central authorities”. Meanwhile, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, continues to remain silent on the issue. Party insiders are of the opinion that the matter will get out of hand if the Central leadership does not find a way to end the unrest.

Security risk

At their recent protest march to the Bihar assembly, several BJP legislators wondered why there was no one to save them from the police lathicharge and water cannons meant to disperse them. They soon realised that their security personnel, mostly from the state police, had abandoned them. A member of the Lok Sabha was also thrashed by the police after having been deserted by his high-level security cover — Central paramilitary personnel. The parliamentarian then thought it would be wise to make a run to safety, but fell down on the ground and was subjected to some more blows from the lathi. He is now undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The BJP leaders sniffed a conspiracy in this. “We are aghast that the police personnel serving as our bodyguards left us in danger and fled. Most of us were beaten with sticks. Were the police personnel guarding us signalled to leave, or did they desert us out of fear? Both ways it is a serious issue and needs to be probed,” a senior BJP leader stated. Others wondered about the quality of men being recruited and the training being given to them to deal with such circumstances.

Footnote

The Kerala BJP president, K Surendran, is having a tough time remaining in the news in a state where his party does not have a single seat. But he has somehow found a way to hog the limelight by becoming a defender of media freedoms. Journalists have been increasingly targeted by the ruling Left regime. Surendran thus urged the Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary, MV Govindan, to stop threatening media persons. The only irony is Surendran himself is no stranger to issuing warnings to journalists.