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Journalism of Courage
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the Congress campaign in poll-bound Bihar has surprised many in the state unit of the party. Gandhi has not been to Bihar since September 1, when his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ concluded in Patna after covering 1,300 km and 20 districts in 15 days. While there is no official word on Gandhi’s programme in the state, party candidates have been flooding his office with requests to get him to campaign in their constituency. Sources said with most of the Mahagathbandhan issues resolved, the Congress leader may launch his campaign for the November elections next week.
Bittersweet Post
Amid the ongoing tension between Raj Bhavan and the Kerala government, a move by the former drew some “praise” from the ruling party. During the recent visit of President Droupadi Murmu, a bust of former president K R Narayanan was unveiled on the premises of Raj Bhavan. CPI(M) MP John Brittas, while lauding Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for installing the bust, took a swipe at the BJP in a social media post where he highlighted the principled positions taken by Narayanan, the first Dalit President of the country. The Rajya Sabha MP recalled Narayanan’s “poignant words” when he termed Babri Masjid demolition “the greatest tragedy that has befallen this nation since the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi”, and his “bold stand” when he urged former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee “to deploy the Army to quell the 2002 Gujarat riots”.
Change & Chance
With the election of BJP’s J&K unit president Sat Sharma to the Rajya Sabha on Friday and the appointment of another senior party leader Kavinder Gupta as the L-G of Ladakh, party circles are abuzz with speculation of a significant overhaul of the BJP organisation in the Union Territory, with the youth at its core. After a significant pan-UT membership drive following the Pahalgam attack earlier this year, party insiders said several local leaders are expecting the blessings of the BJP national leadership during the organisational changes in the party’s J&K unit over the coming days.
