Time to shine
India’s diplomatic outreach after Operation Sindoor was an opportunity to shine, not only for key Opposition leaders but also for some from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party who were part of the seven all-party delegations sent out to several countries to isolate Pakistan. Like Salman Khurshid and Shashi Tharoor of the Congress, two former Union ministers of the BJP, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, got the chance to travel across the globe as representatives of the Government of India. Prasad and Rudy had been key faces of the BJP since the days of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Prasad had handled key ministries in the first and the second Narendra Modi governments as well, but was then suddenly dropped. Rudy, too, has found himself on the margins since being unceremoniously dropped as the minister of state for skill development. Rudy is one of the national spokespersons of the BJP but is rarely fielded to pitch the party’s position. Being called to represent the country’s stand against terrorism thus came as a much-needed morale booster for the two. While Prasad led one of the delegations, Rudy was part of the team led by Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party. Both leaders tapped into their experience in politics to articulate India’s position on international platforms.
Shot in the arm
The BJP government in Odisha has postponed the celebration of completing one year in office from June 12 — the day Mohan Charan Majhi, the chief minister, was sworn in — to June 20 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the state on this day. The state BJP leaders had been trying hard to ensure the PM’s presence at the celebration. If Modi had not agreed to come, Majhi’s critics would have seized the opportunity to corner him. The Majhi government is already under fire for failing to bring about any substantial changes to the administration. Even though the BJP dispensation has completed a year in office, it has failed to fill up all the ministerial berths. Reports indicate that the Majhi government is failing to motivate the bureaucracy to deliver good results, as a result of which many bureaucrats have reportedly opted for Central deputation.
Even the Union minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has been maintaining a safe distance from the Majhi government. The Opposition has intensified its attack on the Majhi government on multiple fronts. During this crisis, Modi’s visit would provide a much-needed fillip to the Majhi government.
Guilt complex
Kapil Mishra, a minister of the Delhi cabinet, has called for the prosecution of those who post on social media about the sacrificial rituals on Bakrid. The BJP government in Delhi issued an advisory ahead of the Islamic festival, warning against the slaughter of cows or camels, or any other sacrifice outside designated slaughterhouses. The ban is covered under laws against cruelty to animals, for the protection of cows, and for food safety. The regulation of social media — although not printed in the official advisory — is aimed at preventing any communal tension. Interestingly, Mishra had been blamed for stoking the riots of 2020 with his hate speech.
Changed demeanour
While the ties between the two former CMs of Assam, Hiteswar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi, may not have been sweet, their sons, Debabrata Saikia and Gaurav Gogoi, are determined to turn over a new leaf as the Congress tries to rebuild for the 2026 assembly polls. Saikia, the leader of the Opposition, and Gogoi, the newly-appointed president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, were seen together at all meetings during the latter’s first visit to his home town last week after becoming the state chief. Times have changed since the days of their fathers, when the Congress was a formidable force in the Northeast. “Today, the Congress is in disarray after the emergence of the BJP in 2014.... their [Saikia and Gogoi] sticking together reflects maturity, more so when the party wants to regain Upper Assam, most specifically the vote of the influential Ahom community to which the duo belong,” a party veteran said. The opening act of Gogoi’s leadership seems to be encouraging. The question is whether he can sustain it.
The new Assam PCC chief is not only responding to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s sustained attacks against him and his wife, which include the formation of a special investigation team to probe their alleged links with Pakistan, but he is also doing so with a touch of humour. Gogoi admitted that he visited Pakistan before becoming a legislator and asked why Amit Shah and Ajit Doval have not taken action against him till now. “How come they don’t know and the CM knows everything?” he asked. He also said his wife used to work in Pakistan. Then he said Sarma’s life was more colourful than his, referring to the CM’s brush with probe agencies. He even thanked Sarma for making him a factor in Assam politics and remained confident that the revelation of the SIT report would “flop” like a B-grade film.