Post Shah illness, now stars don’t seem aligned for BJP rejigs
Scindia kept waiting
The expansion of both the BJP national executive and the Union Cabinet is unlikely before the Parliament session. It has been nine months since J.P. Nadda took over as party president but there is no sign of a new team. The BJP office bearers were supposed to be appointed in August but home minister Amit Shah’s illness is said to have delayed it. Now the stars have turned hostile. BJP insiders now claim that an “inauspicious” Shraadh fortnight has come in the way of a BJP executive and Cabinet expansion. Jyotiraditya Scindia will be disappointed if he fails to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet before the Madhya Pradesh Assembly bypolls. Mr Scindia thinks he can influence voters in 27 constituencies if he is given a Cabinet rank.
Mukul must pay
The Congress’s Mukul Wasnik is finding himself on a sticky wicket following his move to align with the 23 dissenters. Mukul is AICC general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh where crucial Assembly by-elections are to be held. But Mr Wasnik is unable to visit on account of his ‘rebel’ stance.
There are four AICC secretaries under him who in private are giving him an earful for allegedly “compromising” their integrity and loyalty to the party. In principle, AICC secretaries are supposed to take direction and guidance from the general secretary but in Mr Wasnik’s case, neither side is speaking to one another. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath fears this deadlock would cost the party dearly.
Thirty minutes only
Criticised
for cancelling ‘Question Hour’, the Narendra Modi government will allow a 30-minute question hour in the upcoming Parliament session scheduled to be held from September 14 to October 1. So far, India and Russia had been two democracies dithering on convening their Parliaments in the wake of Covid-19. On the other hand, as many as 105 parliaments worldwide have been meeting and discussing issues amid the pandemic. In the British Parliament, Prime Minister Boris
Johnson has been fielding questions after spending a considerable time in the hospital
ICU after getting infected by the Coronavirus.
A piece of Mukherjee
With former President Pranab Mukherjee gone, attempts to usurp his legacy are underway by non-Congress parties, particularly by the BJP and the Trinamul. PM Modi had a picture of him touching Pranabda’s feet while Rahul Gandhi’s rather ‘perfunctory’ tweet was subject to social media criticism.
Pranab’s diaries
Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha, currently the Congress spokesperson and the Delhi Mahila Congress unit head, is said to be in possession of her father’s diaries. These entries, written at the end of each day as his habit, are more than a goldmine. Sharmistha’s brother Abhijit is also in the Congress, having served two terms in the Lok Sabha. Pranab’s diaries are being eyed by the Congress, BJP, the Trinamul and several publishing houses.
Sonia calls Sharmistha
When Pranab Mukherjee was battling for his life at the Army’s Research and Referral hospital in Delhi, Sonia Gandhi reportedly called up Sharmistha enquiring not just about Pranabda but her as well. When she learnt that Sharmistha was alone, Sonia got restless and worried over the young Mukherjee, who had to calm and assure her that she was fine.
Priyanka’s new abode
Priyanka Gandhi has a new address in New Delhi. She has a duplex in Sujan Singh Park, facing the Ambassador Hotel and in the vicinity of Khan Market. It is one of the most sought-after addresses in the capital. Built by Khushwant Singh’s father, Sujan Singh Park is one of the first residential apartments of Delhi, where stories of the residents are as interesting as its architecture. Sujan Singh was Khushwant’s grandfather. Priyanka, reliably learnt, is staying there as a tenant. The writer is a keen observer of the goings-on in backrooms of power