Raje’s couplet sparks return buzz
She may be out of power but Vasundhara Raje knows how to make headlines. This week on Thursday, at the launch of her son-MP Dushyant Singh’s three-day public outreach march, the former Chief Minister recited a striking couplet: “I kept walking throughout my life with blessings… blisters on my feet could never stop me.” Raje recalled her days as an MP when she undertook long marches, bursting blisters on her feet with a pin to keep going. Her show of grit comes weeks after the BJP suffered a defeat in the Anta assembly by-election, a seat long considered her stronghold. Political chatter is already back: will Raje make a comeback?
Barmer rally heats up Cong factional politics
A recent rally in Dhorimanna over the Barmer-Balotra district demarcation has turned into a hotbed of Congress factionalism. The rally drew State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra, LoP Tikaram Jully, former DCM Sachin Pilot, Hemaram Choudhary, Harish Choudhary, and MP Ummedaram Beniwal. But local leaders from the Gehlot camp like ex-minister Amin Khan and former MLA Mewaram Jain stayed away. Hemaram Choudhary, a staunch Pilot loyalist and Gehlot critic, staged a sit-in protest during the event. But after the rally, Dotasra and Jully met with Mewaram Jain, Amin Khan, and other party workers.
Wangchuk continues guidance from Raj jail
The government may consider activist/ scientist Sonam Wangchuk a potential threat to national security. But he continues to serve through his inventions and knowledge—even from behind bars. Over the past four months as he stays in Jodhpur jail, Wangchuk has been working on an innovation aimed at keeping the jail barracks cool during the scorching summer months. Interestingly, even the jail staff have sought parenting tips from him, according to his wife Geetanjali Angmo who frequently visits him. Wangchuk was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) for participating in a protest demanding statehood for Ladakh.
Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur
rajesh.asnani@newindianexpress.com