© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Giving It Away
WITH THE BJP top leadership being particular about confidentiality of meetings they take with senior leaders and office-bearers, the party leaders are usually tight-lipped about what transpired in their meetings. But there are whispers in party circles about former Union minister Mahesh Sharma, who is in charge of poll-bound Tripura, over what he said at a meeting with state leaders this weekend. At the meeting, while talking about “anti-party activities” of some leaders in the state unit, which is hit by factionalism, Sharma quoted a top party leader with whom he met last week to warn them. In an apparent attempt to rein in those who are apparently toying with the idea of rebellion, Sharma said the top leader had mentioned about the fate of those who had rebelled in the past – Shankersinh Vaghela and Uma Bharti, among others. The state leaders are now wondering how they could trust the “prabhari” if he does not keep confidentiality of his meetings with the top leaders.
Jat Focus
SANJEEV BALYAN, Union minister and senior BJP leader from the Jat community, had a loss of face when the party lost the recent bypoll in Khatauli, which falls in his constituency Muzaffarnagar. Now the minister is trying to regain the party leadership’s faith by leveraging his connections with Jats in Haryana. Balyan spent the weekend in Sonipat, one of the two Lok Sabha seats assigned to him as part of BJP’s Pravas programme. The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying also spent time with poultry farmers there.
Proud Father
APART FROM the measures taken by his ministry to protect river Ganga, Jalshakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has a reason to smile as a proud father. His daughter Suhasini, an international shooter, has set a record by rafting the entire length of the Ganga, (Indian side of) Brahmaputra twice and Indus river. The team she led recently completed the longest-ever rafting expedition on the Indus river. She also participated in the 31-day ‘Ganga Invitation Campaign’. The minister is often asked about her expeditions as visitors at his residence enquire about the rafting boat kept in the front yard.
