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Journalism of Courage
Rahul Gandhi may want to bury himself in the back rows of the Treasury benches and adopt a low profile, but Congress netas refuse to leave him in peace. A string of lofty speeches on the importance of Lok Sabha were made by veteran leaders on Friday after the Speaker’s election, but young Rahul is unlikely to have heard a word. Mani Shankar Aiyar sat glued to him throughout and talked incessantly. When Aiyar stepped out, G. Venkatsamy took on the role and he was replaced by Subodh Kant Sahay. The netas did all the talking and Rahul was seen nodding from time to time, but hardly ever said a word.
Sportsman Somnath
Somnath Chatterjee’s girth may belie it, but he is actually a great sports enthusiast — or so Sharad Pawar insists. In his congratulatory speech, Pawar focussed on Chatterjee’s interest in sports and informed the House that the new Speaker was involved in his home state’s cricket, table tennis, and athletics associations. That led P.R. Dasmunsi to add that Chatterjee was also a patron of the Mohun Bagan football club. And Santosh Mohan Deb cried out from the back: ‘‘Wrestling association ka bhi president hai.’’ That last qualification is sure to come useful when he gets down to managing the LS — the ultimate akhara of Indian politics.
Didi mum, Sangma sings
Is the Nationalist Trinamool Congress about to split? Bengal watchers were convinced that Mamata Banerjee’s next target is fellow MP P.A. Sangma because of the former Speaker’s fulsome praise for the new Speaker. Banerjee, who is so anti-CPI(M) that she reportedly delayed her oath-taking because she did not want Chatterjee to administer it, was the only major leader who did not say a word after the Speaker’s election. But Sangma made up for it by declaring that Chatterjee was always his ‘‘guru’’ and today ‘‘you have become the mahaguru of all of us here’’. Banerjee was not amused.
Akalis soften
Akali Dal MPs, who staged the 14th Lok Sabha’s first walkout on Thursday, paid a handsome compliment to Somnath Chatterjee — not because of his long innings in Parliament, but because of the party to which he belonged. Akali leader S.S. Dhindsa recalled that when Sikhs were under attack throughout the country in 1984, the Left Front government in West Bengal ‘‘ek patta bhi hilne nahin diya’’ (did not allow a single incident to take place.) For that, the Sikhs would be ever grateful, he said, while congratulating Chatterjee on his new post.
K-word for mehbooba
Mehbooba Mufti made her maiden speech today and keeping her promise to raise issues pertaining to J-K, she even managed to turn her felicitation to the new Speaker into an impassioned plea for more discussions on Kashmir. Praising Chatterjee’s ability to speak dispassionately about issues close to his heart, she said: ‘‘I cannot do this’’. She went on to elaborate how innocents had died ‘‘to send us here’’ and faced bullets, but still exercised their franchise. She echoed the view expressed by several small parties that their voices should be heard in the new House even if they did not have the numbers.
