IN HER address at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on Wednesday, party president Sonia Gandhi mentioned the Army's ambush in Nagaland and demanded justice for the victims. But there was no mention of repeal of AFSPA, which was a promise in the Congress's 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto. The Congress had then come under attack from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Although some of the Congress MPs have spoken about the need for a relook at AFSPA, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too had been silent on Act in his public pronouncements in the aftermath of the Nagaland incident. After the Congress's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, a section of the party had argued that the repeal of AFSPA should not have figured in the manifesto, especially since the elections were held in a charged atmosphere after the Balakot strikes. Allies To Rivals PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s “those wearing red caps were like a red alert for Uttar Pradesh” jibe at the Samajwadi Party had prompted SP's Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan to distribute red caps to the suspended opposition MPs who are on a protest at the Gandhi statue in Parliament. Incidentally, she did not offer the caps to Congress MPs who are on protest. The MPs of the TMC and Shiv Sena accepted and wore the caps. The SP and the Congress, which fought the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh together, are ranged against each other now. The relations between the Bachchans and the Nehru-Gandhi family too soured decades ago. Light Moments CONGRESS MP from Karur S Jothimani was delivering a fiery speech in Tamil during a debate on Bills granting five-year tenure to directors of CBI and ED in Lok Sabha when N K Premchandran, who was in the Chair, interrupted her: “Could you please lessen your speed a bit. The guys are not able to translate at that speed. Even I am unable to understand clearly.” While the House had a hearty laugh at this, DMK MPs Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja were seen smiling.
