Gujarat Confidential: In Solidarity

Amid the uproar over BJP MP Sushmita Dev’s remark on CPM’s John Brittas’s attire, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, wore a Malayali ‘mundu’ to Parliament on Wednesday in solidarity with the Kerala MP. Kharge, sources said, happily posed for a group photograph with MPs Haris Beeran, P Sandosh Kumar, Brittas and others — all wearing ‘dhoti’ or ‘mundu’. Kharge even identified himself as one of those who wear the traditional attire, it is learnt.

House ‘Hum’

As he joined the discussion on the Bill to rename Kerala as Keralam in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, MoS Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale took to his usual style of starting with a rhyme — “Modi ji aur Amit Shahji mein hai dum, iss liye unke saath hai hum”. Looking towards the Opposition benches, which were nearly empty due to an INDIA bloc walkout, he remarked that the DMK and the AAP were “with us” as their MPs were still in the House. However, he immediately corrected himself, saying, “Arvind Kejriwal is not with us, but Sanjay ji [MP Sanjay Singh] can come with us”, leading to laughter from both sides of the aisle, including Singh.

Slip of tongue

Rajkot Mayor Nehal C Shukla on Thursday mistakenly named former police commissioner Raju Bhargava as Commissioner of Rajkot City Police in place of Brajesh Kumar Jha, who has been at the top post for the last two years.  The Mayor was speaking at the Tiranga Yatra campaign held in the city in the run up to Independence Day celebrations. While thanking dignitaries, he said, “The man who is primarily responsible for handling the law and order in Rajkot, Police Commissioner Bhargava saheb…” Notably, top police officers including then police chief Raju Bhargava, Additional CP Vidhi Choudhary and DCP Sudhirkumar J Desai were transferred after the TRP Game Zone fire on May 25, 2024, that killed 32 people.  Bhargava, an IPS officer of the 1995 batch, was subsequently appointed as ADGP of Armed Units, Gujarat, on July 21, 2024. He was promoted to DGP rank on December 1, 2025, and continues to serve as the head of the Armed Units of Gujarat Police.