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Journalism of Courage
Rajasthan minister dropped, what next?
Like most politicians, Rajendra Singh Gudha is adept at adapting. In the last 15 years, the 55-year-old has left the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to join the Congress, has gone back to the BSP and then again returned to the Congress. But on Friday his one-time benefactor Ashok Gehlot expelled Gudha from the government after he chastised the administration saying Rajasthan too had failed when it came to women’s safety and “we should introspect rather than (talk about) Manipur”.
This proved to be the last straw for Gehlot who had seen Gudha turn against him months ago as he believed that the odds were stacked in favour of the CM’s rival Sachin Pilot. The minister was considered to be a member of the Pilot camp. Now, with his dismissal, it will be keenly tracked through the day how Pilot reacts and if his truce with Gehlot, mediated by the Congress leadership, holds.
Manipur violence
The political repercussion of the violence in Manipur is set to play out over the weekend while Parliament takes a weekend break after proceedings on the first two days of the Monsoon session were washed out. Having found an issue with which to corner the government, the Opposition is unlikely to relent. The CPI(M)’s youth organisation DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) has announced a nationwide protest against the Union government’s handling of the Manipur issue.
On Friday, the Lok Sabha was repeatedly adjourned as the Opposition raised slogans and demanded a discussion on the rape of two Kuki-Zomi women in Manipur that has caused outrage across India. The government accused the Opposition of not being interested in a discussion and as the logjam continued, proceedings were adjourned till Monday. Similar scenes played out in the Upper House.
Naveen Patnaik goes on
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is on the cusp of breaking former West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu’s record to become the second longest-serving CM. Today, he equals Basu’s record of 23 years and 138 days in office. Only Pawan Kumar Chamling who served as the CM of Sikkim for 24 years and 166 days between 1994 and 2019 is now ahead of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader.
With the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections a year away, Patnaik has been on a welfare initiative announcement spree. Recently, his government approved the “Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha (our Odisha, new Odisha)” scheme worth Rs 4,000 crore. The funds will be allocated for protecting places of worship, upgrading sites of historical significance, and improving rural infrastructure and digital access.
The government on Friday announced the Mission Shakti Scooter Yojana for rural women self-help group (WSHG) members who are known to be the BJD’s loyal support base and a key factor behind its electoral success. More such schemes are likely to be rolled out in the coming months as the BJD prepares to face the challenge of containing the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Also in Odisha
The state executive committee of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee will meet to discuss the party’s strategy for the 2024 general and Assembly polls. This will be the first meeting since the All India Congress Committee (AICC) suspended senior leaders Mohammed Moquim and Chiranjib Biswal for alleged anti-party activities. The meeting is likely to be a stormy one as a section of Congress leaders have opposed the suspension of the two leaders.
Devendra Fadnavis’ birthday
The BJP will appoint 50,000 “rugna sevaks” in Maharashtra to serve patients and people who require medical assistance. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said the initiative will begin today to celebrate Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis’ birthday. The party plans to appoint “rugna sevaks” in the 28,000 gram panchayats in the state and in civic body wards.
Mohan Bhagwat in UP
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to address the inaugural session of the Temple Convention and Expo, a seminar on the management of temples organised by an organisation called the Temple Connect in Varanasi.
The Neerja Chowdhury column
In her latest column, our Contributing Editor Neerja Chowdhury writes on the reappearance of Sonia Gandhi as the helmswoman of the anti-BJP bloc. Her stature, Chowdhury explains, allows the Congress to deal with the leaders of regional parties on an equal footing, and without scaring them off, while playing the lead role in alliance.
“While Rahul Gandhi is finding greater acceptability in his party, the regional chieftains, be it Sharad Pawar or Mamata Banerjee, would have found it difficult to accept Rahul in the lead role in Bengaluru. But it was a different story with Sonia at the head of the table. In Patna, it was Rahul who dominated; in Bengaluru it was Sonia. Sonia’s presence may have also made it difficult for the regional parties to announce one of their own as the chair of the new alliance.”
Watch out for
Deeptiman Tiwary’s interview of Azad Samaj Party leader Chandra Shekhar Aazad will be published later in the day in Political Pulse.
