Fly on the Wall
When PMO woke up to the weather folly
The country may be in the grip of heavy rains. But not very long ago, all hell broke in the Modi dispensation after it surfaced that the India Meteorological Department (IMD), had erred in predicting Delhi will touch 52.9 degrees Celsius and Nagpur boiling at 56 degrees. Union Minister for Earth Sciences and Parliamentary Affairs Kiran Rijiju took to micro blogging site "X" the same night saying "Temperature of 52.3°C in Delhi is very unlikely. Our senior officials in IMD have been asked to verify the news report. The official position will be stated soon."
This was perhaps for the first time in the history of IMD that a Union Minister had to deny weather prediction by the department under his own belt. The government was on the boil as it was discovered that IMD had done the Harakiri creating worldwide panic as the USA had gifted India Supercomputers for weather computing and data analysis. A high-powered committee was tasked with reviewing the anomaly. The IMD responded by passing on the buck at the doorstep of the Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) installed at Mungeshpur on the outskirts of Delhi. The IMD DG, M Mohapatra, a handpicked chosen by the government, also blamed the local factors without specifying the same.
It was revealed that the temperature readings at the AWS Mungeshpur reported temperatures approximately 3 degrees Celsius higher than standard instruments during peak periods. Additionally, on May 31, the IMD clarified that the 56 degrees Celsius recorded in Nagpur was also due to a malfunction of temperature sensors. These values are incorrect due to a failure of the electronic sensor (as confirmed by IMD, Pune),” the IMD posted on X. The blame was passed on to the faulty readings by the AWS instruments and not those who were monitoring data. It transpires that a couple of scientists well-versed in the weather forecasting unit were shifted for some strange reasons. The ministry recommended that stringent automatic quality control be applied to AWS data before public dissemination to avoid public panic.
Why Rahul Gandhi dumped Kurta Pyjama
It was a pleasant surprise when Rahul Gandhi came to the House on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha after being anointed as the Leader of the Opposition in a traditional spotless Kurta- Pajama. Settling into a new role, Rahul Gandhi's entry also caused consternation in the saffron camp when the Congress MPs welcomed the leader by chanting "Rahul... Rahul .....". This was a new experience as the Parliament had witnessed roaring BJP MPs chanting "Modi... Modi" whenever the PM entered the Lok Sabha. The BJP leaders, who till now had dismissed Rahul Gandhi as ‘pappu’ or ‘shehzada’ or other adjectives, were dismayed by the attention he got in Parliament. The BJP leadership is also struggling to come to terms with the new situation in the Lok Sabha as the INDIA bloc has enough numbers to match the NDA's dwindled strength. Some of the BJP MPs also acknowledged that he had begun his new role rather well. But the very next day Rahul was back in his favourite Tee shirt and jeans. It is explained by team Rahul Gandhi that the change in attire was to retain millions of followers on social media including Insta who are in the age group of 15-45 years. They are happy with his angry young man image and his style of conducting himself. Rahul Gandhi is unruffled about the comments by those who watch politicians with their prism. He is nursing this constituency as he thinks it is now paying rich dividends. Some BJP MPs wonder about the scenario in the House if Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joins her brother after winning from Wayanad. The three Gandhis will be too much to handle by the BJP.
The battle for Extremely Backward votes
The BJP is now learning the ropes to woo the OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes and the battle is in full swing in Bihar for Kushwaha votes. If reports emanating from Patna are any indication, the BJP leadership is promising to send RLP leader Upendra Kushwaha to the Rajya Sabha. The BJP is eyeing both Rajya Sabha seats where the bypoll is due after Misa Bharti (RJD) and Vivek Thakur (BJP) quit their Rajya Sabha seats after being elected to the Lok Sabha. The BJP was entitled to one Rajya Sabha seat only. But it bargained with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and surrendered two Legislative Council seats to the JD (U) in lieu of an extra RS seat. Interestingly, the JD (U) has fielded Bhagwan singh kushwaha for one Legislative Council seat and the BJP will send Upendra Kushwaha to the Rajya Sabha. Kushwaha's seat will have four year tenure until 2028 while the seat vacated by Vivek Thakur will have two year term until 2026. This seat may go to former Power Minister R K Singh who lost the Lok Sabha polls.
Tailpiece: The BJP has a policy of one man one post. At times, a leader has held two posts for some time due to compelling reasons. But J P Nadda is perhaps the only leader in the BJP's 44 year old history who dons three hats; he remains BJP president, appointed as Leader of the Rajya Sabha and Union Health and Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister.
