Fly on the Wall
Harish Gupta
A
March of Mysteries
The month of March turned out to be full of mysteries never witnessed before. The security & Intelligence agencies and Punjab government is in a tizzy after the self-styled 29-year old preacher from Punjab Amritpal Singh eloped despite round-the-clock surveillance. The Modi government and AAP-led Punjab government have been working in tandem after Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau and other agencies had alerted them about Amritpal Singh's close links with the Pakistani spy agency ISI in Georgia (USA) and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and other Khalistani protagonists in Canada, UK and elsewhere. The two governments decided to crack down on “Waris Punjab De” Chief Amritpal Singh at any time before Baisakhi after he openly threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying that he would meet the same fate as that of late Indira Gandhi. Yet he gave a shocker to all of them by slipping out incognito in 2023 as Baba Ramdev had done in 2013. Ramdev had also dodged hundreds of sleuths by wearing a saree. It is, however, still a mystery as to how Amritpal Singh slipped out of the glare of mighty agencies and 80,000 Punjab police force. It is clear that despite busting around 50 terror modules in the past couple of years, the separatists elements have gained strength and are trying to revive the Khalistani movement once again in Punjab. Ever since Singh came to India in September 2022, there was a spike in drone intrusions from across the border and drugs & weapons related activities grew rapidly in the state.
Amritpal Singh's Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF) is accumulating weapons and reviving the spirit of late Bhindranwale and his objective to take control of the Golden Temple. His followers had captured several Gurudrawars in Punjab, Delhi & elsewhere and his disappearance shows that he is one-step ahead of the entire machinery of the State & the Centre. There is also a view that Amritpal Singh had been arrested and agencies are keeping it a closely guarded secret as part of their own strategy. Secondly, how Amritpal Singh emerged from nowhere all of a sudden, is also a mystery.
The
mysterious Super Connman
As the mystery of Dr Kiran J. Patel from Gujarat, additional director (strategy and campaigns) in the Prime Minister’s Office, is unfolding, shocking details are coming out of the closet. He was not only provided with Z-plus security cover in J&K and availed hospitality of five-star hotels but got access to high-security zones for months together. So shocked was the PMO and the J&K administration after the mysterious super conman was finally arrested on March 3 that it was disclosed a fortnight later. But he exposed chinks in the armory of security & intelligence agencies. It turned out that an IAS officer introduced him as a PMO official in J&K and a group of 5-6 top notches of Gujarat had entrusted him with the task of some land contracts in the Union Territory. Kiran Patel visited J&K for the first time on October 27 and operated for almost six months. It is still baffling as to how even an official from the PMO could be given Z-plus security cover and five star hotel facility without any verification. It is clear that the super conman was representing some vested interests in the businesses and bureaucracy and crackdown may be witnessed in the days to come.
Mystery behind Mahua's deleted tweet
The fire-brand TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra was forced to delete her within seven hours of posting it, has given rise to speculation that Mamata Banerjee is in no mood to cross swords with the Modi government. The feisty TMC MP Mahua Moitra took on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of giving permission only to BJP ministers to speak while Opposition members were not allowed to have their say. “Democracy IS under attack. And the Speaker leads from the front. And I am willing to go to jail for this tweet,” she tweeted. But the strongly-worded tweet disappeared seven hours later. It transpires that Mamata Banerjee directed her to take it down. Interestingly, TMC has also been staying away from the joint Opposition meetings in Parliament giving credence to theories about a tacit understanding with the BJP.
Manish Sisodia turning an approver?
Manish
Sisodia, a former AAP Minister and a close aide of Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal is reported to be under huge pressure to
turn an approver in the “Liquor-gate”. Ever since CBI arrested
Sisodia on February 26 and later by the Enforcement Directorate, he
has failed to get any relief from courts. Since he was a key member
of the Group of Ministers (GoM) which cleared the new Liquor policy,
the agencies have thrown a bait to him. It transpires that the draft
note of new liquor policy was given to Sisodia by Kejriwal. This note
was prepared by Kejriwal's another key aide who is also behind bars.
Sisodia is told that if he would name Kejriwal in the case, he would
be made an approver. It has been proved beyond doubt that the new
policy resulted in massive losses to the Delhi government and finally
had to be scrapped. Since no cash has been recovered either from the
premises of Kejriwal or Sisodia, the agencies are finding it
difficult to prepare a cast-iron case against the accused.
2024 Lok Sabha polls: BJP's Secret Plan to Defeat top Opposition leaders
Even as the Opposition parties are struggling to evolve a common strategy to take on the mighty BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the ruling party's strategy is already in the works to ensure the defeat of prominent Opposition leaders.
It has been decided to give charge of around 20 Lok Sabha constituencies to select Union Ministers to defeat prominent Opposition leaders. Though the BJP had identified 165-odd Lok Sabha seats which it had lost in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But special attention is being paid to wrest these 20 Lok Sabha seats to defeat prominent leaders who are considered invincible.
For example, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been given the charge of Baramati Lok Sabha seat which is considered a family bastion of Sharad Pawar. Currently, the seat is held by his daughter Supriya Sule. It has been decided that Nirmala Sitharaman will be camping at Baramati periodically for 2-3 days. Similarly, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will camp at Rae Bareli to ensure the defeat of Sonia Gandhi. Ever since Rahul Gandhi was defeated from Amethi by Woman & Child Welfare Minister Smriti Irani in 2019, the BJP has been eyeing the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. There are reports that Sonia Gandhi may not contest the Rae Bareli seat and hand it over to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has been given the charge of Chhindwara seat in Madhya Pradesh which has been with Kamal Nath for nine terms. Even External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been visiting Tamil Nadu & Kerala and there is speculation that his political task is cut out. It may be mentioned that the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi had played a similar game in 1984 when it fielded strong candidates against senior Opposition leaders and defeated Atal Behari Vajpyee and other top leaders.
