What happened in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024 is not new. It was on February 25, 2009 when Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina faced the same situation and she telephoned “Kaka Babu” seeking urgent Indian help as Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) officers had rebelled and the Army had been ambivalent. She used to call Pranab Mukherjee as “Kaka Babu” who was the Finance Minister in the Manmohan Singh government. Mukherjee was holding a temporary charge of the Cabinet as the PM was on bed rest after undergoing a serious heart surgery a month ago. After seeking the PM's nod, Pranab summoned the Cabinet Committee of Security meeting and India decided to send its troops to Dhaka to ensure her safety. India stationed 1000 paratroopers at Kalaikunda Air Force Station in West Bengal and prepared a battalion to spearhead landing operations in Bangladesh by the evening of 26 February.
The trigger for students protests in 2009 was also because Sheikh Hasina, after being elected as PM through general elections, had declared to implement 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for children and grandchildren of ‘mukti-joddhas’ (freedom fighters who fought 1971 war of Independence). The students who had the backing of the BNP and Jamaat were seeking her resignation. These disclosures were made by Avinash Paliwal, a senior strategic affairs expert, in his book "India's Near East: A New History” and corroborated by senior army officers as well. It was a difficult time for India too as it had just recovered from the 26/11 attacks and the Sri Lankan civil war was in its final phase in its south. India could not afford another war in the east and Lok Sabha polls were about to be declared. But the Mission was accomplished and Hasina survived the rebellion. But 2024 turned out to be different.
Uddhav As CM! Yes, But....
When Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was on a 3-day long visit to the national Capital, the mission was to hold free and frank discussions with the allies on the tricky issue of Chief Minister's post. While NCP Chief Sharad Pawar gave a clear hint of his preference by calling on Uddhav Thackeray at Sanjay Raut's Safdarjung Lane residence, the Congress leadership's public posture was ambivalent. But from Mumbai now, he has modified his stand saying that whosoever gets majority of seats, he or she could be the CM.
The Maharashtra Congress leaders had conveyed to the party high command that the MVA's chief ministerial face should be decided on whoever wins the highest number of Assembly seats. The state Congress leadership hardened its stance after it emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha elections and claimed maximum number of Assembly tickets be given in the same proportion. The Sena leaders said that Mahayuti is contesting under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and that if the same strategy is adopted, it may help MVA as well.
However, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is very clear about his strategy for Maharashtra. He indicated that the first mission of the MVA is to defeat the Mahayuti at all costs, He is not insisting that the Chief Minister will be from the Congress. Informally, Uddhav Thackeray has been told that the party is agreeable to him becoming the CM in principle. But declaring him as CM's face right now will not help the cause of the MVA. It has also been decided that MVA will hold joint rallies and work in close coordination. Uddhav Thackeray may even be declared MVA's CM face if it helped the alliance to clinch the vital edge. The MVA, according to a couple of surveys, indicated that MVA is winning 165-170 seats out of 288. The issue of giving tickets to the partners will be on the basis of winnability.
Even NDA Mps Upset with New Parliament complex
The government may be going gaga over the new Parliament House building and showcasing it as a masterpiece of architecture irrespective of dissenting voices of the opposition leaders. But a couple of ruling alliance Mps who are part of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) have pointed out a lack of adequate number of toilets and at times face queues. It is also felt that there are no adequate arrangements for having food or light refreshments during the break hours. They wonder what will happen when the strength of the Lok Sabha will go up by at least 150-200 Mps with no adequate basic facilities. While journalists have already been complaining about restrictions put on their entry to the Central Hall of Parliament and other areas and political interactions, now Mps are joining the ranks. The entry of former Mps and other former dignitaries has already been banned due to security and other reasons. It has been pointed out that Mps' canteen is unfit for taking proper food and sitting leisurely. A political discourse even among the Mps is not possible in the new Parliament House complex. It transpires that the government is trying to find a way to cope with these issues.
RSS working hard for BJP win Assembly polls
Keeping their frosty relationship behind, the BJP and the RSS are working together with full force at their command to ensure the party's win in Assembly polls in four states. The senior leadership of the RSS is actively participating in coordination committee meetings with the BJP in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir as well.
If the RSS' joint general secretary Atul Limaye is coordinating with the BJP in Maharashtra, another Joint general secretary Arun Kumar is working in close-coordination in Haryana. He is also involved in Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir as well. Arun Kumar, in any case, is handling coordination work with the BJP at the national level.
The BJP has a tough task in hand in the wake of its poor showing in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand where it could win barely eight out of 14 Lok Sabha seats. What made BJP worried is that it lost all five tribal Lok Sabha seats in the state. In Maharashtra and Haryana, the BJP is in power and lost a considerable number of LS seats.
The RSS even held its national level meet in Ranchi in mid-July where BJP's senior leadership including BJP chief J P Nadda was also present. It is clear that the RSS has kept J.P. Nadda’s statement in the midst of Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was capable of deploying its own workers rather than seeking RSS workers for political work. The RSS has sent a word to its own cadre and also other frontal organisations to ensure BJP's win in these Assembly polls.
Ex-SEBI Chief Sinha joined Adani board
It is no secret that the Independent market regulator Security & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has always been in the news for wrong reasons. The current SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch is not the first chairperson to get embroiled in controversy. Interestingly, the allegations have come months before her three-year term is due for an extension in March 2025. The previous three chairpersons, dating back to C B Bhave in 2008, have courted some controversies, indicating the complications that come with headlining India’s $5.3-trillion stock market watchdog. But the biggest controversy was when U K Sinha became the SEBI Chief who remained in the chair on Feb 18, 2011 and served for more than six years until March 2017.
He was 1976-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, and is one of the longest serving Sebi chief. However, he started on a rocky note. Within weeks of his appointment, Sebi’s whole-time member KM Abraham shot a letter to the Prime Minister alleging that the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and his adviser Omita Paul had pressured Sinha to go soft against some high-profile corporates. There were various public interest litigations (PILs) filed challenging his appointment as Sebi boss, but most of them were dismissed by the courts. The irony was that after his retirement, he joined one of the companies owned by the Adani group on its board as Independent Director. Another Ex-SEBI Chief Ajay Tyagi who served from March 1, 2017 to February 2022 ran into controversy over his handling of the case pertaining to lapses at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which dated back to 2010 and 2015 which turned out to be the big scandal. Ajay Tyagi also joined the company's board.
