Mukherjee @ Nagpur
June 7, by now, has acquired a new meaning. That’s when Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to share his thoughts with young RSS activists at the Sangh’s Nagpur headquarters. The obvious debates have not allowed June 7 to remain just a date, it has come to represent an infliction point in political circles. A sense of surprise that an ex-Congress veteran has been invited to Nagpur and has accepted the invitation has since given way to dismay in the GOP. A number of old guard in the party have appealed to him for a rethink.
Well, the former President may call himself @citizenMukherjee on his Twitter handle, but he is no mere citizen. Very much an elder statesman, on first name terms with the entire political spectrum, no one dared to challenge Mukherjee to a oneon- one argument. Not even the Left leaders, like Sitaram Yechury or D Raja.
And Mukherjee, it seems, is determined to engage with the Sangh, redefine ‘secularism’ as represented in the Indian ethos, as against any shrill interpretation of the term. If in the process he is back as one of the central voices in the limelight, that’s an add-on. No political theory has ever been laid out without a thought to realpolitik. After all, in the midst of feverish alliance building, the National Front et al, Mamata Banerjee is said to have slipped a word on persuading Mukherjee for a greater role. Is the move a new dialogue or something more potent will be known once Mukherjee delivers the lecture.
L’affair Governor
Purohit Another former Congressman, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, has been in the eye of a storm in the recent past. His presence at the Governor’s conference in Rashtrapati Bhawan, therefore, is not something President Ram Nath Kovind is looking forward to. More so as he’s said to have sent two identical letters to the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving himself a clean chit in the alleged sex scandal involving one Nirmala Devi, a professor. The Governor had set up a committee headed by R Santhanam primarily to exonerate himself. The report has not been put in the public domain yet, but Rashtrapati Bhawan fears Governor Purohit may attempt to read out portions from it!
Fitness challenge
Former I&B Minister Manish Tewari taking up the ‘fitness’ challenge thrown by Virat Kohli, primarily to the Prime Minister, has raised quite a few eyebrows. But those who know Tewari well claim he’s always been a fitness freak. Twitter clips of his workout have more to do with his fitness obsession rather than any new political tilt. He is often seen jogging in the hill tracks of Kasauli as well during his weekend holidays. And Tewari does need to be fighting fit if he wants to elbow out Kapil Sibal from the internal party race for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat. The Congress, it seems, has a fair chance of reclaiming the constituency. Sitting BJP MP Kiran Kher is not exactly popular, the reason why Amit Shah’s zeroed in on Sunil Tandon. He’s a freedom fighter and Hindivadi, Purushottam Das Tandon’s grandson. That means it’ll be survival of the fittest!
Shah and Suhag
Talking about Amit Shah... the BJP chief recently touched base with former Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag as part of an outreach programme. Suhag has since been flooded with phone calls, all wanting to know if he’ll be the next VK Singh. Not that Gen Suhag’s revealing much as yet, except his unhappiness about the visit getting undue publicity. What with Shah landing up at a wrong Gurgaon address with a media contingent in tow, searching for Suhag.
Panda of Kendrapara
That Baijayant or Jay Panda’s days in the BJD were numbered was an open secret. He barely masked his ‘deep admiration’ for Narendra Modi and the BJP. But his friends in Delhi are most impressed by the timing of his exit. In BJD, it seems, only one person calls the shots, and that’s Naveen Patnaik. But Jay, they feel, has outsmarted his CM by resigning his LS seat at a time when a bypoll would not be required.
Santwana bhattachrya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email: santwana@ newindianexpress.com