Fly on the Wall
Harish Gupta
Rijiju & a Mysterious Audio-Tape
When Kiren Rijiju was removed as Union Law Minister on May 18 and shifted to the insignificant Earth Sciences Ministry, it came as a bolt from the blue. After all, Rijiju was BJP's original face in the North East and the party's three term Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh. He was inducted as Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Indp. Charge) in the Modi:2 government in May 2019. He rose to become the Cabinet Minister with a crucial Law portfolio on July 8, 2021 after Ravi Shankar Prasad was removed among 11 others in a surprising reshuffle. But in May 2023, he was removed as Law Minister after remaining in the limelight for blasting the judiciary left, right & center. The popular belief is that he was shunted out as PM Modi wanted to buy peace with the judiciary in an election year particularly after the BJP's humiliating defeat in the Karnataka Assembly polls. But insiders have a different take. They say that it's a misplaced notion as the reason for his removal from the Law ministry was linked to the surfacing of an audio-tape. No one is sure about the contents of this audio-tape but one thing is clear; that it contained the voice of Kiran Rijiju. Though there was one Whatsapp chat and 12 audio tapes relating to an on-going scam with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (Haryana). But one tape contained the voice of Kiran Rijiju. It is whispered that the tape's contents were related to appointments of judges and were quite embarrassing. The audio clip has some connection with a CBI case being heard by a Special Judge who was suspended for demanding and accepting bribes. What did Rijiju have to do with it? No one knows. It seems that the scam is deeper than it looks and many heads may roll in the days to come.
Kamraj Plan in offing !
Will PM Modi do in 2023 what India's first Prime Minister Nehru did 60 years ago in 1963? Nehru removed five senior-most Cabinet Ministers and several powerful Chief Ministers in one go and drafted them for party work under what is known as “Kamraj plan”. He himself quit as Chief Minister of Madras state then and was later appointed Congress president. There are reports that PM Modi is also toying with the idea of drafting senior ministers and a couple of Chief Ministers for the party to win 300 plus Lok Sabha seats in 2024. The BJP leadership is extremely worried after the loss of Himachal and Karnataka and aware of its weaknesses in Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and a couple of other states. The PM is keen that young faces, women,tribal & down-trodden sections be given more responsibilities to connect with the younger generation. J P Nadda, Amit Shah and B L Santosh, BJP general secretary (Organization) have discussed the situation threadbare and called on the PM to apprise him of the ground-level situation. The coup in Maharashtra on July 2 was part of this plan. PM Modi is giving final touches to his mega rejig plan after giving a pep talk to his Council of Ministers. All of them will be stationed in Delhi after July 7 and waiting with baited breath.
Stars smiling; finally
Gone are the days when the former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhararaje Scindia was virtually untouchable by powers that be in the BJP in Delhi. She had not been given any position either in the state BJP or in the legislature party for more than four and a half years. She was not part of many of the BJP rallies addressed by central leaders either. But times have changed and she was specially called by BJP president J P Nadda for a long discussion on the prevailing political situation in Rajasthan. When the PM traveled to Rajasthan to address a rally, Vasundhara was not at the podium and was sitting in the front row in the audience. She was invited on the dais and given a seat next to the PM breaking the protocol. When BJP general secretary Arun Singh asked her to speak before the PM's address, she declined saying she had not done any homework and should have been informed earlier. When Amit Shah visited the state to address a rally recently, she sat next to the Union Home Minister and spoke as well. Her opponents in the state and Centre are sulking. So what? The high command seems to have realised that without her being at the helm, the party may not make the cut in the Assembly polls. An announcement is awaited about her new responsibility.
