Soured ties

A war of words has erupted between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha over the Union budget. The BJD president and former chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, described Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget as disappointing and completely ignorant of the state’s interests. But senior BJP leaders, including the railways minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is a Rajya Sabha member of Parliament from Odisha, hailed it, saying that the state has received the highest-ever allocation for the railways. Odisha has received Rs 10,586 crore this year, a 12.5-fold increase compared to the average annual budget allocation of Rs 838 crore during the United Progressive Alliance regimes, Vaishnaw added. The sparring between the two sides is in sharp contrast to the past when they had extremely cordial relations. The bonhomie between the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Patnaik had led political observers to describe the arrangement of the two parties as a live-in relationship. But equations have changed drastically in the wake of the assembly elections which saw the BJP emerge as the ruling party in the state, ending Patnaik’s 24-year rule. Now they are sworn enemies.

Gone missing

The Bihar legislative assembly just had its first session after the Lok Sabha polls and it was expected to be a fiery one. However, the leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, was missing in action throughout the short, five-day session. This is in spite of the fact that his party and its allies tried their best to put the CM, Nitish Kumar, and his National Democratic Alliance government on the mat.

Tejashwi Yadav.

Sources said that Yadav was busy holidaying in some salubrious climes on another continent to escape the sweltering heat in Bihar. Even though he returned to Patna with two days of the legislative session still left, he did not venture out to lead his army in the assembly. “We were raising the issues of poor law and order, special category status, reservation, falling bridges and so many other things. His presence would have perked us up. He could have gone holidaying earlier or after the assembly session. We felt let down,” a Rashtriya Janata Dal leader confided. Yadav did, however, chair a meeting of his legislators after returning from his holiday. But this did not stop the ruling Janata Dal (United) from targeting him for his disappearance and calling him ‘Twitter babua’ (Twitter baby) for venting his ire against the government only on the social media platform, X.

Road to recovery

There is a spring in the step of the Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar. He does not fumble or stammer while talking to the media anymore and is more aware of things around him, belying speculation about geriatric troubles engulfing him. He demonstrated this while reacting to the Union budget bonanza for Bihar and losing his cool in the assembly over the Opposition. But legislators cutting across party lines pointed out that he has a long way to go. “He plays with his fingers and keeps shaking his leg continuously while sitting. But he has cut down on rubbing his belly or moving his mouth in a chewing fashion. The signs are good, but he has a long way to go,” a JD(U) member said.

Poorly managed

The Union culture ministry could not stop boasting about its ability to host the pre-scheduled UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting in India within “just 33 days of PM Modi ji being re-elected.” However, the less said about its media management the better. There seemed to be no coordination among the ministry, the Archaeological Survey of India, the private consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the India Trade Promotion Organisation, which operates the Bharat Mandapam where the event is being held. First, the ministry asked journalists to register on a Google form. Then, the ASI asked for another round of registration on its website and reporters received a QR code e-pass to enter the venue along with a note that no physical pass would be issued. However, a day before the event, the ministry asked reporters to contact a PwC consultant at the ASI for hard copies of passes, which arrived just before sunset. The next day, it was announced that journalists would not be allowed at the inauguration. On subsequent days, the entry for reporters was around two kilometres away from the venue, a challenging walk given Delhi’s humidity and rains.

Promises belied

The actor-politician and junior minister for tourism, Suresh Gopi, did not expect to be on the defensive less than two months after being elected as the BJP’s first Lok Sabha member from Kerala. His promises of an AIIMS and other big-ticket projects for Kerala if he won have all come to nought with no mention of the state in the budget speech. With the local body polls coming up next year, the BJP and Gopi better be ready to field brickbats from the Left, the Congress and the people.