Rare gesture
The sacred flag-hoisting ceremony in Ayodhya earlier this week turned out to be a rare moment when Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped back from assuming the lead role at a major event. As Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat, walked into the Ram temple, the PM allowed Bhagwat to lead the way, following a step behind. The gesture surprised many given Modi’s reputation for a ‘main hi main hoon (me and only me)’ approach, where he is typically the sole prominent figure in photographs. Even during the hoisting of the Dharma Dhwaj atop the Ram temple, Modi invited Bhagwat to stand beside him, and the two jointly turned the lever. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders maintain that the PM’s gesture was meant to accord due respect to Bhagwat, the head of the sangh parivar. Politically, however, the move was seen as yet another attempt to repair ties with the RSS. Modi had not offered prominence to Bhagwat during the temple’s foundation-laying ceremony or its inauguration in the past. It is widely believed that the election of a new BJP president has been delayed due to prolonged differences between the party and the sangh. Modi’s gesture towards Bhagwat has reportedly been well-received by the RSS leadership. With the sangh signalling a willingness to endorse Modi’s choice, buzz within BJP circles suggests that the long-pending appointment of a new party president may be imminent.
Harsh stance
The recent comment made by Deepa Dasmunshi, the All India Congress Committee general-secretary in-charge of Kerala, against the complainant in the sexual misconduct and forced termination of pregnancy case involving the suspended Congress leader and incumbent Palakkad legislator, Rahul Mamkootathil, has raised eyebrows. The complainant, a woman journalist associated with a television news channel, approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against Mamkootathil. When
TV news channels sought Dasmunshi’s reaction to the incident, she questioned the complainant’s decision to approach the CM instead of going to the police. Vijayan sent the complaint to H Venkatesh, the additional director-general of police (law and order), for further probe.
A senior woman Congress leader not supporting the victim of a sexual abuse has ruffled both the party leadership and the rank and file. Their grievance is that a leader of Dasmunshi’s stature should have taken a softer approach towards the victim. Dasmunshi’s reaction, they argue, shows the party in a bad light.
Big talk
During the debate on the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025 in the state assembly, the CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, dared the Opposition to stop him from returning as the CM in the 2026 assembly elections. Sarma promised that if he were to return as CM, he would introduce the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the very first assembly session. Even though the Opposition is struggling to put up a cohesive challenge to the ruling BJP-led alliance, the Congress, which is the principal Opposition party in the state, was equally confident about Sarma’s days as CM being numbered.
Pawan Khera, the chairperson of the AICC (media and communication), told newspersons in Guwahati, “First of all, he will not return to power. He will go to the jail after this election. He knows it. You know it. I know it.” However, political observers argue that the Opposition will have to walk the talk to stop Sarma instead of indulging in rhetoric.
Empty boast
The Pakistan high commission in London claimed a walkover at the Oxford Union on the motion, “India’s Policy Towards Pakistan Is a Populist Strategy Sold as Security Policy”. The Indian side included the former army chief, General M.M. Naravane, and former Union minister, Subramanian Swamy. Pakistan’s narrative was countered by the Indian side, which included the right-wing lawyer, J. Sai Deepak, and Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentarian, Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Sai Deepak was informed that Naravane and Swamy had dropped out and was asked to suggest alternatives. Before he could do so, the Oxford Union chief, Moosa Harraj, who is the son of a Pakistani minister, said that the commentator, Suhel Seth, and Chaturvedi had been roped in, but later informed that they too had cancelled. The
lawyer then cobbled up two Indian debaters based in Britain but was informed by the Union that the Pakistani side had not reached. Chaturvedi claimed that she was
informed about the debate just two days before the event.