KEEPING THE TABS ON THE POLITICAL GRAPEVINE

The tug of war over the Ishrat Jehan case notwithstanding, Congress leader P Chidambaram got a warm welcome in the Rajya Sabha from home minister Rajnath Singh soon after he took oath. Singh, who was in the house for the discussion on the violence in Kashmir, exchanged pleasantries with the former home minister shortly before proceedings resumed after lunch.

At the all-party meeting on Sunday, BSP leader Satish Mishra told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he is happy about minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s promotion. “I am so happy to see that Naqvi, who was earlier dependent (as minister of state) has now been made independent.” The PM retorted, “But he is still dependent on you,” referring to the cooperation required from Opposition parties to run the Rajya Sabha.

Former minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah has denied reports that she was incommunicado ahead of the July 5 Cabinet reshuffle and that was why her resignation was not taken on that day. She was in the United States on a private visit. Sources said that barely an hour after she landed in New Delhi, she was asked to put in her papers, dashing whatever hopes the 76-year-old minister might have had of surviving the latest reshuffle.

A jump in the number of its shakhas (branches) and the increased footfall are not the only reasons why the RSS is upbeat. A ‘positive’ portrayal in a few Malayalam films, the RSS says, is an indicator of its growing acceptance and acknowledgment of its “constructive role”. What makes it sweeter is the fact that Kerala is a Left bastion and movies serious business. Recently, a mail was sent out to all karyakartas, with a link to the Malayalam flick Ee Adutha Kaalathu, which shows how a man and his son were rescued from a violent mob by the RSS workers.