Amit Shah-Mann chemistry raises eyebrows
Bhagwant Singh Mann has come a long way within 13
months of taking over the reins of Punjab as Chief Minister. Though he called
PM Modi an illiterate person who doesn't read the files and signs them and the
one who wants to see his own photographs everywhere. This is a “psychological
disorder”, he said at a public rally on March 24, 2023. But a lot of water has
gone down in the Sutlej river since then. It is said that Mann was extremely
upset with the PM as he did not help the border state of Punjab. After being
elected as CM on 16th March 2022, he called on the PM on March
25, 2022 seeking Rs.1 lakh crore financial package and cooperation. This was
Mann’s first meeting with Modi after taking oath as the Chief Minister of
Punjab as nothing happened for a full one year and hence this outbursts.
Interestingly, Mann was successful in establishing a wonderful chemistry with
the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah when he sought his help in preventing supply
of drugs and arms from Pakistan. He also assured the Home Minister that the
Punjab government has put its entire might in arresting hardliner preacher
Amritpal Singh and sought full support of central agencies in this operation.
Insiders say that he put forth a plan of action for Amritpal's arrest or making
him surrender. He wanted the BJP leadership in Punjab to not resort to
mud-slinging as it will damage the cause and create the same situation 40
years ago. Without blinking, Amit Shah provided all the help and directed
the party cadre to be careful on the Amritpal issue. Finally, joint efforts
made by the Centre and the state paid rich dividends which resulted in the
arrest/surrender of Amritpal Singh and his supporters without firing a single
bullet. The Mann government also agreed to Amit Shah's suggestion that all
these radicalized elements be kept in Dibrugarh central
jail in Assam. The bone-homie between
Mann and Shah is keenly watched by political observers.
A classic
handling by Delhi Police
Satya Pal
Malik, a personal pick of PM Narendra Modi as Governor of Bihar who was later
shifted to J&K, Goa to Meghalaya, learnt the power of IPC section 144
rather the hard way. After falling out, he has been launching blistering
attacks on PM Modi personally and his government's handling of sensitive
issues. He is staying in a South Delhi house and trying to find his feet in the
Opposition space to play some role in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. On April 22, he
invited Khap Panchayat leaders to his residence. As he could not accommodate
them in his drawing room, he decided to hold the meeting with them in the
nearby park and arranged for lunch too. Those watching Malik's activities after
he fell out with Modi, alerted the RK Puram police station and all hell broke.
The local police were scared to act without permission from the top and within
minutes ordered to take action. But the gathering was peaceful and there was no
slogan shouting against the government in the park. A wiser person monitoring
the situation told the Police to impose IPC's section 144 in the minuscule area
inside and outside the park only in order to maintain peace in the residential
area. An SDM declared the gathering unlawful and told them to leave the venue
immediately. They were told that since no prior permission was taken, the
meeting is illegal. When Malik went to protest along with his supporters
against the Police action at the RK Puram station, he was told about
the section 144 under which action was taken. Malik is learning the hard
way to live with the new reality glaring at him.
Modi's delicate
handling of the Dalai Lama
Prime
Minister Modi devised a unique strategy to handle the sensitive issue relating
to the Dalai Lama when a two-day Global Buddhist Summit was held in the Capital
recently. Obviously, Modi had to maintain a delicate balance between the Dalai
Lama and the Chinese leadership. Strange it may sound but Modi has been walking
trying hard to handle the Dalai Lama issue since 2014. For example, he met the
Spiritual leader on August 20, 2014 several months after assuming office. But
did not acknowledge it as photos of the meeting were not put on
Twitter. However, his failed attempt to woo China in
maintaining peace and tranquility in Eastern Ladakh led Modi to publicly
extend greetings to the Dalai Lama over the phone on his birthdays for the
last two years. Yet, the Dalai Lama was not invited to the Global Buddhist
Summit on the first day of inauguration by Modi. Instead, a scheduled
discussion was held by Buddhist monks on “HH The Dalai Lama, his Contribution
Towards Global Peace & Continuity” etc during the afternoon session.
Interestingly, the Dalai Lama was invited on the second day of the
conference to address the gathering. The foreign policy
experts playing a role in such affairs say that Modi didn't want to
be photographed with the HH Dalai Lama at a time when crucial talks with China
are going on and the Chinese Foreign Minister is expected to be in
India for the G20 Summit. The Chinese government considers the
Dalai Lama a separatist.
