Turnaround at end
During his recent interaction with secretaries to the government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitted that he was conscious that within 10 months of the formation of the new central government, its popularity had begun to wane. He was aware that there was a long haul ahead for the NDA government and its approval ratings might dip for quite some time, he added. But he asked the officers not to worry, and continue to work unperturbed. He said he would do the “political management” in the last two years of his tenure. Modi said he had experience in these matters, as this was the model he had followed successfully in Gujarat as chief minister.
Bollywood pact
For decades, Bollywood was informally divided into two rival camps, one headed by Amitabh Bachchan and the other by Shah Rukh Khan. But the rivalry between the two superstars appears to have ended. Members of the two leading clans of Bollywood royalty are now good friends. Many believe that politician Amar Singh, who was once very close to the Bachchans, had fuelled the bad blood and rivalry between the reigning Khan and the veteran actor. That the Bachchans and Khans have now signed the peace pipe is clear from the fact that Abhishek Bachchan is set to act in one of Shah Rukh’s films. In fact, Shah Rukh’s son and Bachchan’s granddaughter, who live in London, are best of friends.
Spared the axe
Former central minister Gurudas Kamat wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi demanding the removal of Sanjay Nirupam as chief of the party’s Mumbai unit for the major faux pas committed by the party’s publication Congress Darshan, brought out by Nirupam. An article in the magazine criticised Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies and described Sonia Gandhi’s father as a fascist. Nirupam had presented Sonia a copy of the publication on her birthday, but claims he did not read the article. AK Antony, as head of the party’s disciplinary action committee, served a show-cause notice to Nirupam. But Nirupam is being supported by Rahul Gandhi, who indicated to journalists that Nirupam would be exonerated. He dismissed the notice with the words, “formality to karni padti hai”. After all the Congress has almost no north Indian leaders of significance in Mumbai.
Sita Janmabhoomi
The demand for the construction of a Ram Janmabhoomi temple at Ayodhya has been around for long. Now, a new movement has emerged to build a Sita Janmasthan temple at Sitamarhi in Bihar. Prabhat Jha, the BJP vice-president, and some leaders of the party’s Bihar unit are collecting signatures demanding the construction of a major shrine some 150 km from Patna. According to mythology, Sita was born near Sitamarhi on the Nepal border. It is believed she was born not from her mother’s womb, but emerged from mother earth. There is a Janaki temple and small pond there for several decades, but now BJP leaders want it to be made far grander so that it could become a major tourist attraction.
Secure from SP
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has won a mere nine-block-level panchayats. One of them was in Mathura, where the BJP allied with Ajit Singh’s party. It was such a fiercely contested battle that before Ajit Singh agreed to join forces with local BJP leaders, the Samajwadi Party tried to lure the successful BJP candidates away. Fearful of the strong arm tactics of the Samajwadi Party, the local body’s elected members were kept in hiding in a resort in Haryana at their
own request.
President’s 3Ds
President Pranab Mukherjee will convene a two-day governors’ conference on February 9 to discuss how to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament and state legislatures. This seems to be a message for other opposition parties in general and the Congress in particular, to play a more constructive role when the Budget Session of Parliament begins from February 19, with a joint address to both Houses of Parliament by the President. Mukherjee has expressed himself strongly against disruptions on several occasions. He refers to the “three Ds necessary for democracy”: debate, deliberation and decision-making.