Bose’s X-files
In West Bengal, politics will be served with generous lashings of history. The secret Netaji files are becoming a political football with West Bengal and the Centre racing to entice the Bose-obsessed bhadrolok with a peak into a classified intelligence secret of the past. Mamata Banerjee—who has Sugata Bose and Amit Mitra, Subhash Chandra Bose’s grandsons—in her camp, has been first off the block, declassifying 64 files in the state’s possession. But Bose scholars are worried that the Bengal CM’s decision to give access to the family first may compromise facts. Not to be left behind, the Centre made late night calls to a top authority on Bose. The idea is to set up a panel to make an inventory of Bose files lying in various ministry and intelligence vaults.
Basheer Khand
Malayalam scholar M M Basheer, who discontinued his series on the Valmiki Ramayana after threats from Hanuman Sena, is said to have received a surprise outreach from an unexpected quarter. Two Kerala RSS veterans told him that the Sangh had nothing to do with the threats. The author, however, is too shocked and is avoiding the media.
Cabinet Recharge?
There’s much anticipation in Lutyens’ Delhi about top-level changes in the Union Cabinet being in the offing. A performance audit of the Cabinet is underway. Whether changes can be governed by performance criteria is not known, but the buzz is that outside talent, technocrat types, will be brought in.
Chanakya’s Dilemma
Prashant Kishore, the brain behind Narendra Modi’s spectacular campaign of 2014, is the man in-charge of Nitish Kumar’s campaign for a third inning. Kishore is finding the pitch a little dodgy this time though. Interacting with journalists at JD(U) MP K C Tyagi’s residence, he admitted he had an advantage because he knows how Modi and Amit Shah think and strategise. At the same time, he mournfully added, this is neutralised because they too know how he responds to situations and his techniques. The B-polls, therefore, are a balanced game.
Three States Play Dynastic Games
Dynastic games are playing out in ironically contrary manners in three crucial Indian states. In J&K, the BJP-PDP coalition may be in for interesting times, if the more plainspoken and hard-hitting Mehbooba Mufti replaces her aging father, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. There is resistance from many quarters, including from the Intelligence Bureau, to the idea of Mehbooba as CM. In Punjab, the transition may be much smoother. Sukhbir Singh Badal is putting his brain and brawn behind the next Punjab elections as he is slated to take over from the senescent father, Prakash Singh Badal. Uttar Pradesh may see reserve engineering; papa Mulayam Singh Yadav, who does not blink before upbraiding his CM-son Akhilesh Yadav in public, may go from a de-facto to a de-jure role.