In command
The newly-appointed president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitin Nabin, has been holding a series of meetings and travelling extensively to familiarise himself with party leaders in Delhi as well as in the states. At 45, he is the youngest person to head the party, and most of the leaders he will now have to deal with are senior to him. The BJP, which claims to be the world’s largest political organisation with a membership exceeding 14 crore, has dominated the country’s political landscape for more than a decade and has also attracted several senior leaders from other parties. Nabin has been entrusted with the task of building the BJP’s next generation of leadership. Privately, however, several senior leaders were learnt to be sceptical of his authority initially, seeing him largely as a figurehead. To dispel this perception, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a clear message, saying: “In party affairs, Nitin Nabinji is my boss.” Since then, senior party leaders have been seen seeking appointments with Nabin to build a working relationship with him. Party insiders say that during these meetings, leaders have been echoing the PM’s remark, telling Nabin that he is their boss as well.
Fickle heart
A few months ago, in a podcast interview, the general-secretary of the Kerala-based SNDP Yogam, Vellappally Natesan, said that he would not accept the Padma Bhushan if it were conferred by the BJP government. The interviewer joked that given his proximity to the BJP, it should be easy for the Ezhava community leader to secure the honour.
But Natesan, who is also a leader of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, a partner in the National Democratic Alliance, brushed aside the suggestion, quipping that the award hardly carried any value. But on the eve of Republic Day, 89-year-old Natesan was among the Padma Bhushan awardees. Contrary to expectations that he would turn it down, Natesan was moved to tears, saying that he would accept the award wholeheartedly. Netizens pointed out that Natesan is no different from other politicians who have no qualms about going back on their words.
Real picture
The recent visit of the World Bank president, Ajay Banga, to Odisha has triggered a controversy. During his visit this week, Banga held meetings with the chief minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, and officials on the implementation of various developmental projects. While the CMO claimed that Banga congratulated the state for its development efforts, reform orientation and skill development initiatives, the Biju Janata Dal maintained that the government misled the World Bank delegation as well as the people of Odisha by presenting a rosy picture that is far removed from ground realities.
The BJD argued that during Naveen Patnaik’s tenure, the state had the lowest debt burden in the country, with a total amount of ₹78,000 crore over a period of 24 years. Odisha’s financial management model was widely appreciated by several institutions. In contrast, the BJD claimed, the BJP government has raised loans worth ₹91,000 crore in just 18 months. Alarmingly, 38% of these loans have been sourced from the open market, in violation of World Bank guidelines. The BJD said as a responsible Opposition party, it sought clarification from the CM about misrepresenting facts to the World Bank.
Global
exposure
The Telangana government went to town about CM Revanth Reddy attending a six-day-long course titled “Leadership in the 21st Century (Chaos, Conflict, and Courage)” at the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States of America. The CMO shared details of Reddy attending classes from 7 am to 6 pm in temperatures ranging from -15°C to -24°C in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Journalists received background information before and after Reddy completed the course alongside 62 other participants. Reddy reportedly made a presentation titled “Telangana Rising 2047” at the event and is scheduled to return to Hyderabad next week.
In 2014, the then Union human resource development minister, Smriti Irani, was mocked for claiming that she had a degree from Yale, when she had, in fact, attended a similar six-day course there. Derided for having earned her graduation through correspondence from Delhi University, Irani went on to become a regular in the lecture circuits in American universities. Whether Reddy will be able to similarly capitalise on his foreign laurels remains to be seen.