A day after firing yet another salvo at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and, in the process, set alarm bells ringing in a section of his party, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will be in Poonch in the Jammu region on Saturday to meet the families of those killed and affected in shelling by Pakistan this month. According to party insiders, his visit is expected to begin around 10.30 am. This is Gandhi’s second visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. Even as Gandhi reaches out to people affected by the shelling, some in his party are worried about the risk entailed in attacking the External Affairs Minister at a time when the government is trying to project a united front when making its case to governments across the world. While one senior Congress leader said the party “should not play such games with a Union Minister” and that there has to be a better way in which the LoP can raise pertinent questions. The comments drew a sharp response from the BJP that accused Gandhi of playing into Pakistan’s hands at a time when all-party teams, including MPs and leaders from his party, have fanned out across the globe to take the government’s message to world leaders. How this war of words between the two parties and these differences within the Congress play out may be among the stories to watch out for over the weekend. As one of the Congress leaders in one of the multi-party delegations told Asad Rehman and Jatin Anand about Gandhi, “He is the LoP. He has certain responsibilities to ask questions of the government on behalf of the people. But such posts on social media. I don’t understand them. You can have your spokespersons and leaders do such things. Why do it yourself from your official social media account?” On PM Modi’s schedule One of the chief complaints that the Opposition has had since the Pahalgam attack is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the two all-party meetings held since then. Though not a similar setting, the PM on Saturday will meet the CMs of all states and Union Territories, including Opposition-ruled ones, for the first time since Operation Sindoor when he chairs the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog whose theme is “Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047”. According to a statement from the government body, the idea of “Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat” is a call for states to craft bold, long-term, and inclusive vision documents aligned with national priorities, yet grounded in local realities. "These visions must include time-bound targets," the NITI Aayog said, adding that states must “leverage their unique geographic and demographic advantages while focusing on human development, economic growth, sustainability, technology, and governance reforms”.
