Fly on the Wall
Modi's allies: gain some lose some
The Modi government may have put the controversial Broadcasting bill on the back burner and agreed to send the Waqf Boards bill to the Selection Committee of the Parliament. It has not been able to issue rules pertaining to the Data Protection Act fully one year after it has been passed by the Parliament in 2023 to ensure that all stakeholders are on board including certain concerns by foreign players. The government played safe considering the changed political dynamics i.e. BJP's failure to obtain a majority of its own in the June 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
But it quietly achieved a feather in its cap by ensuring the support of its key allies like the Janata Dal (U) and Telugu Desam Party on “Secular Civil Code Bill and One Nation One Poll.” Both are major allies of Modi 0.3 and without their express support, these bills may not pass muster in Parliament. Both the allies were smiling as PM Modi used the “Secular Common Civil Code” bill from the ramparts of the Red Fort in his Independence Day speech. This is the first time that the PM chose to use the word “Secular” during his tenure during the past ten years. Until now the BJP used to make fun of the word “secular” saying the opponents are “pseudo secularists.”
Another major feather in Modi's cap came when these allies also lent their full support to the One Nation One Poll issue to the government. Though it will be a long drawn process but with partners lending their support, the path will be easy. The Opposition parties are already worried that their Mps are being poached with each passing day and state governments facing threats of their survival. The double-barrel gun may make the passage of these bills a lot easier. But when it came to the issue of filling 45 posts through the Lateral Entry route, the government buckled under the pressure and withdrew the proposal.
Hoodas'
sway over players
The ruling dispensation may have been rightly taking credit for the rising number of Olympic medals for our sportsperson during the Modi regime. But it is upset that the Hooda family has tremendous clout over players hailing from Haryana. It is peeved that Lok Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda, a son of Bhupender Singh Hooda ensured that Haryana's olympian Manu Bhakar calls on UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi even before these medal winners call on the PM or Sports Minister. But the occasion is such that the ruling dispensation cannot speak about it publicly. The BJP is also keeping a close watch after it surfaced that Haryana may witness a bitter electoral battle between Vinesh Phogat and Saina Nehwal in the upcoming state Assembly elections. Deepender Singh Hooda had already announced that his party would support Vinesh Phogat for the lone Rajya Sabha seat where bypoll is due. The seat was vacated by Hooda as he got elected to the Lok Sabha. But Vinesh Phogat did not react as the BJP is set to win the seat. However, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini rewarded Vinesh Phogat with a cash prize of Rs four crores as promised for her splendid performance though she failed to win the medal. It also transpires that the BJP is contemplating to field former badminton champion Saina Nehwal. Interestingly, the rivalry between the two celebrities hailing from Haryana, Vinesh and Saina, surfaced after Saina issued a statement not very palpable to Vinesh. The last word on the saga is yet to be written.
Why
RSS wanted an OBC BJP Chief
The core group of RSS' highest body, the 'Pratinidhi Sabha' to be held between August 31-September 2 in Kerala is unlikely to discuss the issue of BJP's new president anymore. Rather the RSS will focus on more key areas to strengthen the BJP's expansion program in states where it is facing more challenges. Therefore, there is no talk of appointing any 'interim president' of the BJP as well. The BJP leadership announced a detailed program of holding organisational elections so that a full-time president could be elected in early 2025. The RSS may also focus on gaining traction of the OBCs, a community which is more identified with the INDIA bloc parties. What worries the saffron parivar is that the Congress which had lost the support of the OBCs after it had opposed the implementation of the 'Mandal Commission' report in the early 90s. But Rahul Gandhi has been gaining their traction by raising issues of their interests pushing the BJP on the back foot. Even in the case of recruiting 45 Lateral Entrants to the top bureaucratic posts from the private sector, Rahul Gandhi hogged the limelight by accusing the government of ignoring the interests of the OBCs, SCs and STs in such recruitments on a large scale. It may be mentioned that the RSS had been advocating for making Shivraj Singh Chuhan as the next BJP president to win back the OBCs. Even now there are many who feel that making Union Minister Chauhan an interim president will help the BJP electorally. But the BJP leadership decided to put this issue until the next year when an organisational poll will be held.
