All work and no play
Most Bharatiya Janata Party leaders believe that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo eat, sleep and drink politics. The duo, however, would like to claim otherwise. Modi and Shah insist that they are devoted to the service of the nation and not politics. Whatever their obsession, it seems to be taking a toll on many, particularly ministers, who are dying for a break or a family holiday. With the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for next year promising to be exhausting for one and all in the ruling party, some were said to be desperate to use the Christmas-New Year period to relax. One minister recently mustered the courage to seek the prime minister’s nod to go on a family holiday during an informal meeting. The whispers in the corridors of power have it that Modi promptly agreed, but what he said thereafter left the minister speechless. ‘Those who want to do politics can’t take leave but others can proceed,’ the PM was said to have remarked.
Emotional soul
The chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, got emotional when the sevayats of the Puri Jagannath temple told him about the development of the district and the shrine under his watch. They had gone to invite Patnaik to the inaugural function of the
Rs 943-crore Shree Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project (Srimandir Parikrama Project) on January 17. The servitors told Patnaik that King Indradyumna had installed the idols of the Jagannath temple to tell his story. Similarly, they claimed, Patnaik would be remembered for generations to come for his support for the temple and developmental work in Puri. While the servitors were praising him, Patnaik got emotional and tears started rolling down his cheeks.
Strange unity
The Punjab CM, Bhagwant Mann, has decided to have the rejected Punjab tableau driven on the roads of Delhi for a week before Republic Day. The Aam Aadmi Party has hit out at the Centre for rejecting Punjab’s and Delhi’s tableaux for the parade on January 26. Mann called it “a step towards removing Punjab from the national anthem.” Significantly, it is Mann’s cabinet colleague, Laljit Singh Bhullar, who has called for the reunification of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh — which were trifurcated in 1966. Bhullar was answering queries regarding the Sutlej-Yamuna canal water sharing a day before talks between Punjab and Haryana on the decades-old water-sharing dispute. Surprisingly, Haryana’s Punjabi-speaking CM, Manohar Lal Khattar, when quizzed on Bhullar’s remark, remarked that modalities of such a reunification can be worked out.
Curious cheer
It was the trifecta — strange things happened at a strange time at a strange place. A jubilant crowd of Janata Dal (United) workers assembled at the party headquarters and started bursting crackers, smearing each other with colours and dancing as soon as they got news about the resignation of the JD(U) national president, Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh. Some even distributed sweets.
This was surprising because none had ever heard about celebrations on the ouster of a party chief. But relief was writ large on the face of the JD(U) office bearers. Some of them confided that Singh’s exit was good riddance and expressed hope of better days for the party in the future. Some diplomatic leaders also tried to project the fireworks and festivities as people rejoicing at Nitish Kumar taking over as party president. But this is unlikely as Kumar has held the position previously too.
Sense the chill
The winter chill has engulfed not only Bihar but also the ruling Grand Alliance ever since Rajiv Ranjan Singh stepped down as the JD(U) national president and the Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar, took up the reins of the party. All other alliance partners — Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and the Left parties — have stayed mum about the change. But speculation is rife about the hoopla that preceded Singh’s ouster. The removal could have been done quietly without any fuss. The allies are thus wondering whether the move was deliberately engineered to create a conducive atmosphere for Kumar to switch over, once again, to the National Democratic Alliance or to put pressure on the INDIA bloc or just to hog the limelight on the national stage.
“If it is true that Lalan was removed because he had grown close to Lalu and tried to break the JD(U), or had rooted for the merger of the party with the RJD, then we all are in trouble, the Grand Alliance is in trouble, unless it was Lalu who tipped off Nitish about Lalan’s overtures,” a very seasoned Grand Alliance leader shared. There are predictions about a showdown in the New Year. Will the present dispensation continue in the state, will Lalu Prasad take control of everything, will the NDA come back to power? One just has to keep guessing.
