Judging by the judges…
Despite Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s retort that the government will follow “convention” in the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India, speculation is rife in legal circles that Justice Ranjan Gogoi could very well be superseded by a younger judge. Prasad’s refusal to give a straight reply to a query on the next CJI is what fuelled the conjecture—whosoever outgoing CJI Dipak Misra recommends, the executive would endorse. Not many would bet high on CJI Misra naming Justice Gogoi has his successor, though the actual recommendation from him would go out to the President only by September, a month before he retires.
An elevation would give Justice Gogoi a clear two-year term. But there's all this history. Also, CJI Misra has often backed former colleagues from the Delhi High Court. The other hot topic: Will the collegium under the current CJI stick to its guns on recommending KM Joseph’s elevation to the apex court? Well, with Justice Chelameswar retiring and Justice AK Sikri becoming the new collegium member, its "opinion" could also change. All eyes are on the next meeting. In his exit interviews, however, Chelameswar hinted at ‘some action’ in his exit if the decision taken during his tenure is altered. The entire judicial picture would nonetheless undergo a sea-change around October.
Can Kumaraswamy do a Nitish Kumar?
The BJP is convinced that the chemistry between Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is proving to be rather good. The PM has already met him twice and been rather affectionate towards Gowda Jr. With the Congress Karnataka camp, particularly Siddaramaiah, up in arms over the budget issue, BJP insiders are giving the coalition three months' time. The buzz is HDK, by then, would be ready to do a Nitish Kumar on the Karnataka Congress.
No China for Mamata
Why did Mamata Banerjee cancel her China visit? Especially after all the buildup about Beijing responding to the fast-changing political situation, and "wooing" Mamata as the "alternative" to Modi? The MEA and diplomatic circles make light of all that, and say it's only a ‘scheduling problem’. That though the Chinese envoy here tried his best, no high-profile meetings could be lined up for the Bengal CM. In the midst of the diplomatic ping-pong, a vital clue was missed.
The sudden appearance of Rakesh Asthana, the CBI Special Director, in Kolkata on Thursday night. Continuous meetings ensued on Friday to "expedite the Narada- Sarada investigation". There are about 14 FIRs against senior TMC leaders and ministers pending. Abhay Singh, the CBI official overseeing the probe, was also summarily shunted to Ranchi for slow progress. It seems Asthana will himself monitor the probe on a daily basis. Did Didi apprehend some ‘unpleasant development’ in her absence? What's certain is that she’s returning the CBI heat with CID fire—the probe into the cases against BJP leader Rupa Ganguly et al in an allegd childtrafficking case has been stepped up.
Will Kamal bloom in Congress?
Will the Congress tie up with Kamal Haasan’s fledgling party? We don't know yet. But the Gandhi family, at least its younger members, did roll out the red carpet for the superstar. Apparently, even as Rahul Gandhi was holding an intense discussion with Kamal on the state of Tamil Nadu politics, sister Priyanka Gandhi joined in full measure. Indications are that Priyanka is particularly receptive to the idea of a fresh look at TN politics.
Is a new alignment, minus DMK, being explored by the Congress? Naturally, the young siblings wouldn't want to plunge into such a decision on their own—without Sonia Gandhi weighing in. Hence, a meeting between Kamal and Sonia has been set at Rahul-Priyanka’s behest. The idea is to explore if the Congress with the two Left parties and Kamal can be a viable option. The GOP, it seems, wants to contest 20 seats, which the DMK is unlikely to part with and the former cannot win any without an alliance. Since this is going to be the first TN poll post-Jayalalithaa and without an active Karunanidhi, any new equation may emerge.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email:santwana@ newindianexpress.com