Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu is caught in the middle of a stand-off between his IAS officers and TDP MPs. When Naidu came to Delhi for the Vice-President’s swearing-in ceremony, an altercation took place between MP Byreddy Shabari and the CM’s aide Kartikeya Misra at Naidu’s residence. Misra allegedly rudely ordered the woman MP to step aside. When Shabari suggested that Misra show more respect, the officer launched a tirade and she broke down in tears. Her fellow MPs comforted her and senior MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy recalled that the same officer had allegedly once slammed a door in his face. He had earlier quit the YSR Congress because of similar arrogant behaviour. TDP MPs complained to the CM, who asked his official for an explanation. Instead of an apology, at a Collectors’ meet at Amravati last week, IAS officers backed their colleague. It was even suggested that the MP deny the incident, news of which appeared in the media. With both sides incensed, Naidu is caught between a rock and a hard place.
Mother Mary’s Play
Award-winning author Arundhati Roy’s latest book, Mother Mary Comes to Me, recalls an old quarrel between BJP’s K J Alphons, and the author and her mother Mary Roy. Arundhati writes that Alphons, then the Collector of Kottayam, had banned the production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar in Roy’s school hours before it was to be staged. Arundhati suggests that Alphons acted out of pique because her mother, the school’s principal and founder, had refused to admit two students he had recommended without an entrance test. Alphons, however, claims the ban had nothing to do with Roy turning down the applications of two poor farmers’ children, but because he feared a law and order problem in the district. He personally had nothing against Andrew Lloyd Webber’s play, which he had directed as a student at Shillong University. It was because he had received a complaint in Kottayam, the heartland of the Syrian Christian community, signed by 3,000 people. He had requested Roy to attend a meeting to clear up the misunderstanding that Mary Magdalene’s song in the musical was blasphemous. But the “impossible” Roy had refused to meet Alphons and, instead, approached the courts, questioning how a play performed all over the world could be dubbed as blasphemous. A decade on, the SC allowed the school to perform it.
Out in Open
Unlike previous BJP politicians who sought to politely distance themselves from the RSS in public perception, PM Narendra Modi has gone out of his way to emphasise the strong bonds between the party and the Sangh, even if it means upsetting liberal and anti-Hindutva elements. Modi congratulated the RSS on its centenary year from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day and published an article praising RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday. A pragmatist, Modi realises that he needs to keep the RSS on board if the BJP requires the services of its cadres at election time. After Bhagwat’s recent denial that he had ever suggested the norm for retirement at 75, a potential point of difference between the two men was cleared. But consensus has yet to be reached on the choice for the next party president, a post that is significant not just for controlling the organisation, but also influencing the eventual line of party succession. The latest name floated as a probable presidential candidate is Nirmala Sitharaman, a rumour that gained currency with some people noticing major renovations at her residence. In fact, the PWD work afoot is simply long overdue repairs, as Sitharaman moved to her Safdarjung Road bungalow in 2017. Her advantages as a woman and representing the south are outweighed by the fact that she is not from the RSS, has little organisational knowledge and that the PM is happy with her handling of the finance portfolio.
Emulate Gandhi
Intolerance for healthy criticism and suppressing legitimate reporting is regrettably a growing trend worldwide. A Delhi court last week issued a blanket restraining order against journalists from writing about the Adani industrial empire. The I&B Ministry recently ordered YouTube and Instagram to remove 138 links and 38 posts respectively. In the US, President Donald Trump slapped $15 billion defamation suits against the New York Times and Penguin Random House. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show on ABC TV has been abruptly terminated. In this context, it is worth recalling a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi, dated August 10, 1929, to A C Chatterji of the Associated Press (AP) wire service, which reveals a contrast in tolerance and liberality that is worth emulating. In his letter, auctioned by Sotheby’s last year, the Mahatma brushed aside the newsman’s apologies declaring, “I know enough of journalism to appreciate that errors are at times inevitable.”