Firm stand
Amid the wave of defections that has rocked the Trinamool Congress, the Bardhaman-Durgapur member of Parliament, Kirti Azad, has emerged as one of the party’s most vocal defenders. Despite speculation over his loyalty because of his past association with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Azad has stayed firmly with Mamata Banerjee and stepped up attacks on the ruling party. Last Friday, he targeted the foreign minister, S Jaishankar, on social media over Pakistan’s role in brokering a deal between America and Iran.
“The country we call a terrorist state. Do you have any shame?” he posted, describing it as “diplomacy by a third-class economy”. In another post, he accused the BJP of engineering defections to fulfil its “Abki baar 400 paar” slogan. Calling it “engineered arithmetic to subvert the people’s mandate”, Azad argued that the National Democratic Alliance still remained short of a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. Azad has claimed that considerable pressure was being exerted on him to switch sides, including the withdrawal of security personnel from his official residence. Many believe his steadfastness stems from the fact that his political career has largely been outside Bengal. The 1983 World Cup-winning cricketer began his political career with the BJP and served three terms as an MP from Bihar before switching to the Congress and then the TMC.
Birthday gifts
President Droupadi Murmu received the most memorable gift of her life on her birthday. Not only did the prime minister, Narendra Modi, visit her hometown but he also went to her in-laws’ village to offer floral tributes at the memorial of her late husband and two sons. Modi wrote on social media that her journey continues to inspire people across the country. Murmu turned 68. Murmu and Modi also dedicated projects worth Rs 47,600 crore to the nation from Rairangpur. People were delighted to witness the warm camaraderie between Murmu and Modi. But it remains to be seen whether Murmu will secure a second term as president with her current tenure ending in July 2027. Rajendra Prasad is the only president to have got a second term.
Big budget
The maiden budget of the chief minister of Kerala, VD Satheesan, was framed around the vision of a “New Age Kerala”. Satheesan, who also holds the finance portfolio, maintained in his budget speech that private investment is required for the state’s development. But there is apprehension on how the Congress-led United Democratic Front will mobilise funds for the government’s ambitious development programmes. Satheesan remains unfazed as he is confident of overcoming the financial crisis the previous Left government has pushed the state into. The budget announced Rs 600 crore to compensate Kerala State Road Transport Corporation for the free bus ride provided to women and transgender passengers. Satheesan sought to ensure that every sector got a fillip in his maiden budget.
Same side
The Congress Rajya Sabha MP-elect from Tamil Nadu, Praveen Chakravarty, dug out an old article in a Chennai-based newspaper that praised the state’s economy under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rule. Chakravarty, credited with the alliance with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and dumping the DMK, shared a post of the article by the former editor-in-chief of the paper and said that the TVK-led government’s recent white paper had “thrown eggs on so many supposed ‘independent’ media outlets”. Ironically, the article was authored by Congress spokesman, Salman Soz, at a time when the Congress backed the DMK.
Misplaced loyalty
The National Conference MP, Ruhullah Mehdi, posted on X that a Muslim MP had asked the TMC MP, Yusuf Pathan, not to protest with his party in the well of the Lok Sabha against the SIR. He quoted the ‘Muslim MP’ saying, “They will bulldoze your house in Gujarat,” and added that Pathan’s colleague, Mahua Moitra, assured him of safety. Mehdi added that he felt sorry for Moitra and her party as, “You had his back but he and his likes stabbed you in the back.” Moitra replied that it was the firebrand Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, who warned Pathan against protesting.
Sarcastic response
Following the order to temporarily block Telegram until June 22, the platform used X to voice its opposition through some sarcastic and exaggerated analogies. In a post, Telegram compared the blocking order with banning water because people drown and restricting solid food due to choking hazards. It also sarcastically suggested the closing of the roads because someone was speeding.
