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The Union minister of food processing industries, Chirag Paswan, continues to claim that he is Narendra Modi’s Hanuman. “My Prime Minister lives in my heart… if needed, I will tear it open to show you,” the son of the late Dalit leader, Ram Vilas Paswan, said recently to a news channel. With the Bihar assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year, Paswan Junior appeared to be trying to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party in good humour to extract a good share of seats for his party, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). His ‘Modi ka Hanuman’ claim had hit the headlines during the last Bihar assembly polls too which he had contested separately and not as part of the National Democratic Alliance. The LJP (RV) could not win many seats then but it is widely believed that its going solo had helped the BJP to win more seats than its traditional senior partner in the state, the Janata Dal (United), led by the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. This time, however, Paswan’s party has to contest as part of the NDA, headed by Kumar in the state. Paswan Junior must ensure to get a decent share of seats to contest and win a good number of them to prove his relevance.
Huge mistake
“Undoubtedly Trump is alpha male but our PM is sab Alpha male ka baap,” Kangana Ranaut, the actor and BJP member of Parliament, posted on X, hoping to earn accolades. But she was compelled to not only delete the post but also express “regret”. Ever since Ranaut got elected to the Lok Sabha, she has been creating problems for the BJP with her contentious remarks. The party had to reprimand her after she levelled wild charges against protesting farmers. However, the jibe against the president of the United States of America for asking the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, not to manufacture in India was a step too far. The BJP president, JP Nadda, had to hurriedly call her and get the post deleted. Clearly even Modi’s ‘56-inch-chest’ is no match for the US president.
Just demands
Congress insiders in Assam have started worrying about the future — both their own as well as the party’s — following the results of the recently-held panchayat elections. The dismal result saw a huge dip in vote share and seats and, once again, brought to the fore the inadequacies of the Congress in mounting a challenge to the ruling BJP. It has failed to provide an alternative to the voters in the run-up to the assembly polls.
A BJP-led government for the third straight term will make it very difficult for the party to recover as has been the case in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, where the Congress once called the shots but is today struggling to stay afloat. The disunity among the Congress’s top five leaders who seemed to be either pursuing their own agenda or undercutting each other is being blamed for the state of affairs. The rank and file want the AICC to ask them to get their act together or look at other people who can present a united front. Workers also want the AICC to appoint a new in-charge for the state or ask the current team to spend more time in the state like the BJP’s prabharis to understand what is wrong. They want a strong media team to connect with the people in real time and for AICC leaders to visit the state frequently.
Under watch
The chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Mohan Bhagwat, was at Gatiroutpatna in Cuttack last week to attend a training programme. The visit came at a time when Operation Sindoor had just concluded and the CM, Mohan Charan Majhi, is preparing to celebrate his first year in office. Majhi will complete one year in office on June 12. Two rallies were held to celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor and Majhi rode pillion on a motorbike across Bhubaneswar. Bhagwat, however, did not meet any state leader publicly during his visit, even though many of them come from an RSS background. But with him watching closely, all were serious about their job. Any lapse could have cost them dearly.
Courtroom drama
The Karkardooma district court in Delhi may have provided the Netflix series, Mamla Legal Hai, with yet another story. A judicial magistrate had to defer a judgment because her staff threatened to commit suicide. “Judgment could not be dictated as the regular stenographer of the court has left the court after threatening the court that he will commit suicide,” read the order, much to the amusement of the legal fraternity. There is never a dull day in Karkardooma.
Safety first
During the India-Pakistan conflict, faculty members of Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur took shelter inside a tunnel in the campus. They took the education ministry’s instruction to take precautions for safety quite seriously.
