Will Sonia retire?
No sooner had the outgoing Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, told a TV journalist the only future role she saw for herself was ‘retirement’, her party loyalists went into overdrive. Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter vehemently countering the claim, and other Congress leaders chipped in.
She would remain the ‘guiding light’ of the party, was the chorus. It was a message to the allies and potential allies that Sonia was not going on a vanvas and would continue to be the UPA chairperson, coordinating the GoP’s external relations.
Winds of change
Whether winds of change blew over Gujarat or not, a certain kind of change was perceptible in Parliament. Particularly in the Rajya Sabha, which saw BJP chief Amit Shah making his debut from a front row seat. That was not all. The Upper House took a different outlook. Assuming the chairman’s role, Venkaiah Naidu directed the members to do away with the ponderous colonial habit of ‘begging’ to lay papers and bills on the table of the House.
Union ministers expressed their gratitude, but missing was a quick repartee from the opposition benches. The absence of Sitaram Yechury and Sharad Yadav, known for their quick wit, was felt. The CPI-M general secretary retired last session, while Yadav was recently disqualified for parting ways with Nitish Kumar’s JD-U. Also missing from the front rows was feisty Mayawati. The BSP chief resigned her seat in a huff the previous session.
Missing Shiva
As far as the humour quotient goes, the opposition’s gap was filled by the chair. Otherwise in
protest mode, the entire House broke into laughter when Venkaiah Naidu quipped: “Shiva is present everywhere, but Tiruchi Shiva is absent (from the House) today.” The DMK MP’s name cropped up for the House vice chairpersons’ panel.
BJP upbeat
Parliament Central Hall wore a rather deserted look, except when BJP’s Bhupendra Yadav created a flutter by asserting the Congress would be in for a “bigger shock” on Monday. A little more explicit, his party boss Amit Shah predicted the Congress would do worse than in 2012. That’s in Shah’s home turf, Gujarat.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email: santwana@ newindianexpress.com