Resurrection of Sardar
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the flavour of the season. His legacy is getting a new lease of life, what with the record of the tallest statue going to his name. Not that it was all celebration. The ‘Statue of Unity’ on the banks of Narmada has drawn controversy over the cost incurred and the absence of any non-Gujarat leader at the inauguration.
The BBC chose to focus on the abysmal condition of the tribal community and the plight of farmers unable to access the Narmada waters in the adjoining area, while others on social media pointed to the remoteness of the place and the lack of connectivity, which could impede it becoming a tourist spot any time soon. In fact, the L&T officials erecting the marvel had a hard time commuting and communicating with each other.
A record has nonetheless been set, dwarfing everything else, including the PM, who inaugurated the statue. So much so that, after many years, a big Sardar Patel billboard surfaced outside the Congress headquarters, with a pointed message. Patel’s laudatory letters to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also surfaced on Twitter. Now a seminal book and a biopic on the country’s first home minister is all that’s awaited. The GOP is determined to counter the “poaching activity”, a GOP veteran quipped.
Missing heartbeat thanks to Spandana
Has Divya Spandana gone rogue? Her rather distasteful tweet on PM Modi’s photo at the foot of the Sardar Patel statue drew flak from the ‘libtards’. Her refusal to back off, while trying to explain away the tweet as a kind of humour angered her own party. But what gave a distinct sense that Ramya (her screen name) has fallen out with the AICC was the manner in which the media cell did not defend her, and egged on journalists to put her in her place.
The GOP’s media cell, under the super-efficient Randeep Surjewala, has long wanted to have its sway over the IT cell and was in a tussle with Ramya. Her wings finally got clipped after Nikhil Alva virtually took over her unit. Now, it’s her turn to get back, and she’s seen to be hitting the party where it hurts most.
That Modi excels in converting such comments to his advantage makes the Congress wary of any misstep. As a curtain-raiser, BJP motormouth Sambit Patra took low potshots at Rahul Gandhi, writing a whole new para in the new culture of vilification that dominates the political discourse of the day.
Beware of the media
With the CBI, ED, and RBI all witnessing an internal revolt of sorts, the Government is taking no chances. Not that North and South Block had much control over the goings-on; a headlong collision seemed scarcely avoidable. To avert further leaks from the corridors of power, strict instructions have been issued to bureaucrats, particularly joint secretary-level officials, not to mingle too much with the media. Anyone caught in the company of reporters can face strict action that may impact their careers!
Another son rise?
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s son Shaurya Doval’s prominence within the current dispensation may no longer be limited to think-tanking. Shaurya’s helming of a key project in Uttarakhand is seen as an indicator. The Uttarakhand unit of the BJP is none too happy about the Delhi durbari’s paratrooping into the state and sidelining grassroots aspirants.
Akbar woes to increase
Talking about anger at outsiders cornering seats meant for local leaders, Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders want the party to ease the disgraced M J Akbar from his Rajya Sabha seat. The Ethics Committee of the Upper House is likely to initiate action against Akbar if a complaint is received. Akbar, like Dharmendra Pradhan, was brought into the RS from Madhya Pradesh.