Tripped on Hindi
With Islamabad fishing in troubled Jhelum waters, the entire political spectrum in New Delhi—otherwise not a paragon of unity—closed ranks at Friday’s all-party meeting on Kashmir. So much so that Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad was heard snapping at media questions with ‘you-can’t-make-me-take a critical view on this now’. The only complaint came from the south of Vindhiyas. As a well-known Tamil Nadu leader put it, they had problems understanding the nuances of Prime Minister Modi’s speech, which was given in Hindi. No wonder they were left confused what the Balochistan connection was.
Intra-Left Exodus
The unusual district-level exodus from CPI-M to CPI in Kerala has left the leaders of the two parties squirming in New Delhi. A top CPI leader elaborating on the reasons behind the ‘fraternal loyalty’ shift left his explanation mid-sentence when he found MPs from the other Left party approaching that corner of Parliament. One of the reasons, he managed to share, was that disgruntled supporters of V S Achuthanandan, mostly Dalits, were leaving CPI-M fearing for their lives.
Chips & Herbal Tea
Mollywood action star Suresh Gopi, nominated by the President to Rajya Sabha, has become rather popular among his fellow members. The BJP MP, who doesn’t look as towering in real life as he does on screen, freely distributes a rather tasty variety of banana chips with crushed curry leaves and herbal tea, which he carries around in a flask.
Kathmandu Channels
A regional party leader, an intellectual well-known for his Nepal connections, performed a stellar role in getting his old university pal Prachanda—Pushpa Kamal Dahal—assuming the seat of power in Kathmandu. Earlier too he had had a hand in bringing the former Maoist leader overground. This time he was instrumental in setting up a meeting between Prachanda and Nepal Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, which led to the nine-month-a-shot power-sharing pact. Before he embarked on his ‘highly classified’ mission, he’d held parleys with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, NSA Ajit Doval and even Prime Minister Modi. Even though New Delhi was worried about K P Oli’s anti-India stance, his attempt to play China against India and his divisive politics that had left the Madeshis up in arms, our man was told, India did not want to be seen meddling in Nepal’s internal politics. So, the Oli ouster was undertaken with great finesse, a little persuasion here and a little push there.
Media Co-ordination
The Congress media cell is walking on egg shells these days. Prashant Kishor, it seems, has floated the idea of forming a media advisory committee at AICC (with reputed invitees from the fourth estate) to ensure better coverage. What’s got the personnel in the party’s media cell biting their nails is Rahul Gandhi’s recent remark that ‘communication’ is PK’s forte and he has not seen anyone in his party doing it better! Well, judging by its present shambolic image, maybe that’s true.