Fly on the Wall
Canada Softens, Modi Hardens
If PM Modi is going out of his way to placate the USA over allegations of Indians involved in the plot to murder Pannu on the American soil, he has hardened his stand against Canada over allegations of murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year.
Modi is reported to be extremely upset as the Canadian PM tried to damage the image of India and named Indian government officials linked to the murder. Since India had been soft towards Canada since the time immemorial (Kanishka bombing in 1985), Modi decided to take the bull by the horn. Canada is somewhat isolated as well though the 'Five-eye' countries (US, UK, New Zealand and Australia) share all intelligence information with it on all sensitive issues. But the Canadian PM crossed the line when he made allegations against the 'Indian Government' merely on the basis of “intelligence inputs” rather than on hard evidence.
The other four countries including the USA are doing the lip service with Canada as everyone is keen to do business with India. Canada is aware that not all of the three million Indian diaspora on its soil are not Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party of Canada. Modi has made deep inroads into this diaspora. Now the Canadian government is sending friendly overtures as Canadian universities are finding it difficult to financially survive without Indian students. The Canadian government is facing massive unrest due to unemployment in the country, and price rise. India also allayed fears of this latest row with Ottawa impacting the Indian diaspora there when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the issue was limited to a particular line of politics. “We would like to maintain people-to-people relations” he said. It emerges that the Indian government has withdrawn the massive Police security cover given to the Canadian High commission in Chanakyapuri here and told them that they will have to hire their own private guards.
Paying Price Silently
All Secretaries of the country's top espionage external Intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), remain silent and invisible. If they are rewarded, it is done behind the curtains and within the four walls of the fraternity and if they suffer, they have to suffer in silence too. The last RAW Chief who hung his boots was 1984-batch Punjab cadre IPS officer Samant Kumar Goel. He was picked up by the Modi government to head the RAW considering his impressive record of fighting against terror in Punjab when it was at its peak and demitted office in June 2023. He had done commendable work as RAW Chief and reported to have played a key role in the government's “Pro-active policy” against Pakistan in identifying terror modules operating from their soil and destroying terror networks. He was instrumental in creating a network of informers across Pakistan who were virtually eliminated during the UF and Congress dispensation in the past. He is perhaps the only former RAW Chief who was provided with Z-category security by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after his retirement due to perceived threat to his life. Insiders in the Modi dispensation say that Samant Goel was to be rewarded with a Constitutional post due to his tremendous contribution. But it so happened that the controversy erupted in Canada and the USA about the role of some modules allegedly connected to the agency. Though no proof has surfaced so far. But this has made Goel suffer in anonymity.
Congress' RS Litmus test; thanks to Maharashtra
After the Haryana debacle, a win for Congress and its allies in Maharashtra and Jharkhand is crucial. It may be a do- or-die battle for the principal Opposition party due to a variety of reasons, the foremost being its lead role in the Rajya Sabha. A loss for Congress particularly in Maharashtra may cause turbulence in the Rajya Sabha where it is already vulnerable as it had seen defections of many of its senior leaders in the past. The Congress currently has 27 Mps in its kitty, just two more to retain the post of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), occupied by Mallikarjun Kharge. If the party loses Maharashtra, there is a possibility that a few of its MPs hailing from Maharashtra and even Karnataka may quit the Congress. The BJP has already identified five such Rajya Sabha MPs who are vulnerable. The Congress is in poor shape in Delhi where Assembly polls are due and Bihar is also not a bed of roses either given the current situation. The Assembly polls are due in these states in 2025. Secondly, Team-Rahul continues to behave in an arrogant manner and even Rahul Gandhi has not changed his style of functioning as he continues to be a delusionalist. A delusionalist person believes things that couldn't possibly be true. If you're convinced that the microwave is attempting to control your thoughts, you are, sadly, delusional.
Nitish Missing the Plot!
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's absence from the swearing-in-ceremony of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini raised many eyebrows. Reason; Nitish was the only NDA CM to miss the event though Prime Minister Modi was personally monitoring the event. It was a turning point for the BJP as it won third consecutive term in a row and Nitish's absence was not in good taste for the NDA either. It now transpires that Nitish Kumar had personally telephoned Modi and gave “some reason” for his inability to travel. Though Nitish attended the “Ravana vadh” ceremony during Dussehra in Patna, he missed the shot which revealed the true status of his health. Nitih Kumar was to shoot an arrow at the effigy of the demon king so that the fireworks could begin and engulf it in flames. The Governor, Rajendra Arlekar was also present on the occasion. But Kumar fumbled and his bow and arrow fell on the ground. The effigy went up in flames without Kumar’s arrow. This slip-up was panned by politicians cutting across party lines.
Obviously, earlier reports of his health being in good shape were not correct, feeling whether it was yet another instance of Kumar suffering from dementia. While the Opposition pointed out that the arrow is the election symbol of Kumar’s JD (U), has missed the target and 2025 will be his Waterloo.
