by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Uddhav and Sharad Pawar invited for Temple ceremony

Akhilesh and Lalu Prasad have also been invited says top VHP leader

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Dec 28

Contrary to reports, it has now emerged that the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have invited Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party and Uddhav Thackeray, president of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), have been invited to attend the opening ceremony on January 22, 2024.

Yesterday, Sharad Pawar had said that he has not been invited to the Temple ceremony function. Even Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was also very upset that his party has not been invited to the function and blasted the BJP. He claimed that had Shiv Sainik not demolished the structure, Ram Temple would not have been there.

As if this is not enough the Temple Trust and VHP have also invited Samajwadi president Akhilesh Yadav for the ceremony. Though it was during Mulayam Singh's regime that Kar Sewak were fired upon in Ayodhya. Akhilesh Yadav is free to lead the delegation foir the ceremony on January 22.

Similarly, Lalu Prasad Yadav, president of the RJD has also been invited to the ceremony. Though it was during Lalu Yadav's regime as Chief Minister when L K Advani's Ram Rath Yatra was stopped in Bihar and the BJP leader was arrested. The VHP leadership has also invited Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for the ceremony as well. 

When contacted by Lokmat, Alok Kumar, working President of the VHP, said that all prominent leaders of political parties have been invited to the ceremony. “I am not in a position to say why this issue is being raised. We have not no reservation against anybody for any political reason. We want people to come and attend the ceremony and see the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It's the most auspicious occasion and I would urge the people not to politicize it.”

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

A Painful RAW Nerve

A highly senior officer of the country's top espionage agency was contemplating going to the USA on a private visit for a family function. Though he had retired from service after exemplary performance, he deemed it fit to bring to the notice of the powers that be about the impending visit. Within hours, he got the message that he should travel to the USA to his own peril as the situation is not conducive. In any adverse situation, the Government of India may not be able to help him. The on-going controversy relating to Khalistani activists in Canada and USA has created bad blood. The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada by unknown assailants and plot to kill  Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in the USA were hogging the limelight. The USA has been pressing India hard to take action against those part of plotting the killing of Pannu in New York. India has assured the USA to act fast and set up a high-powered committee to probe the issue of alleged involvement of an Indian in the said plot. While Canada has given no evidence to support its charges against India, the USA is reported to have shared details about its investigation with the Indian Government. Several senior intelligence and security officials of the USA have also visited India in the recent past to press for action in the matter. Those in the know of things in the country' top espionage agency and security apparatus say that it will take longer than expected to resolve the issue. In the meantime, the two western countries will also take action against those giving open threats to wage a war against India.

Role of Non-State Actors

The hot pursuit policy may die a slow death in the Western world due to recent controversies. But there seems to be no let up in action against enemies of India hiding in Pakistan. Those responsible for anti-India activities and closely associated with wanted terrorists including Maulana Masood Azhar and others are on the run in Pakistan. Though the ISI had provided safe Heavens to some of them, yet many have been killed by unknown assailants in many cities of Pakistan. Interestingly, the Pakistani government has not blamed India for such killings. Reason ! The Pakistani leadership had coined a new term when attacks in Kargil took place during the Vajpayee era. Pakistan then washed its hands off saying it is the handiwork of “non-State Actors” and there is no involvement of the Army. Though the USA did intervene then and firmly told Pakistan to back off. It seems the same “Non-State Actors” term is haunting the ISI now. As many as two-dozen such Paki operatives have been killed in the past few months and Pakistan is keeping its fingers crossed. India is paying back to Pakistan in the same coin for spreading terrorism in J&K and other parts of India including attacking the Indian Parliament. The previous Congress & United Front governments at the Centre had looked the other way when India's spy network in Pakistan was being eliminated slowly.

A Ministerial Hara-kiri

Delhi's fire-brand Lok Sabha MP and Minister of State for External Affairs & Culture Meenakshi Lekhi created a flutter when she disowned a reply in the Lok Sabha attributed to her. She said that she never dealt with the parliamentary question at all and never signed the reply. The Lok Sabha is in session and still she chose to go public with the grievance on “X” (known as Twitter). The question asked was whether the government had any plans to declare Hamas a terrorist organization in India, and whether Israel had specifically asked New Delhi to do so. The unstarred question's reply was tabled in her name in the Lok Sabha on Friday last. Lekhi tagged External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with her post. In a separate post, Lekhi added: “Inquiry will reveal the culprit.” Political circles were aghast to see Meenakshi Lekhi tweeting about it. Article 75(3) of the Constitution says “the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People”, making it binding on every minister, senior or junior, to speak in one voice on government policy.

Some of the Opposition members even moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on the ground that Lekhi had violated the principle of collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers. Insiders in the Ministry of External Affairs say that all is not well in South Block and something is amiss between Lekhi and her ministerial colleagues. Though the spokesperson of the MEA, Arindam Bagchi clarified that a technical correction was needed as the reply should have been attributed to another junior Minister V. Muraleedharan. There are umpteen number of examples when ministers give wrong answers in Parliament and later tender apologies or senior ministers or even the Prime Minister rising to correct their colleagues. But what Lekhi had done is unprecedented and it seems more will unfold after the Winter session of Parliament is over on December 22.

A flawed Logic

Political analysts are going gaga over PM Modi's choice of three new young faces for Chief Minister's post in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. No doubt, Vishnu Deo Sai (59 years) in Chhattisgarh, Mohan Yadav (58 years) in Madhya Pradesh and Bhajan Lal Sharma (56 years) in Rajasthan are pretty young. But in 2003 when the BJP won these states, the Atal-Advani team sent Raman Singh (52 years), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (44 years) and Vasundhararaje Scindia (50 years) as Chief Ministers. They were all relatively young, pipping all senior leaders in these states. If it's a generational change in the BJP in 2023, the same happened 20 years ago too.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Harish Gupta

The rise and rise of Yogi

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's rising graph as party's star campaigner has ruffled many feathers in the BJP. In the recently concluded assembly polls in five states, he drew unprecedented crowds at his public meetings. After Prime Minister Modi, Yogi was in huge demand as every candidate wanted him to address at least one public meeting in the constituency. Those who traveled extensively in Rajasthan vouch that people throng in large numbers on their own to listen to him as he is seen as a saviour of the Hindus. In Rajasthan, he asked the crowd, “What would have happened to the killers of Kanhaiya had he been in UP?” The crowd roared, “Bulldozer and Goli”. The “Bulldozer Baba” as Yogi is popularly known, has a winning record of almost 85% wherever he went to campaign. The rising graph of Yogi has ruffled many feathers in the party and all kinds of efforts are being made to clip his wings. While PM Modi is highly appreciative of the work Yogi had been doing and often praises Yogi in his tweets. But some senior leaders are unhappy over the trigger happy UP police particularly over the killing of the gangster and politician, Atiq Ahmed. Its a different matter that lips of his detractors have been sealed after the victory in three states. It must be noted that the majority of ministers including the two Deputy Chief Ministers in the Yogi's ministry are among his detractors. Even some of the key officers in the government are not of his choice either. But Yogi found a way to deal with the situation as he would put the minister and bureaucrat face-to-face whenever a complaint is received. He would tell the minister to stop taking bribes causing huge embarrassment. Only recently, a news surfaced on the social media that the Yogi may be fielded from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat to strengthen Modi's hands in 2024. But there are no takers of the idea given Yogi's role in Modi's Mission-400 seats next year.

Nitish Kumar's baffling saga continues

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to behave in a manner which causes anxiety not only amongst his party colleagues but also in the INDIA partners. As stated in last week's column, his statement in the State Assembly about women's education and population control made last month, brought out his wayward behaviour in public. But there are more stories of Nitish's forgetful behaviour. Once touted as the Opposition's joint Prime Ministerial candidate, Nitish Kumar seems to be losing the plot. He has become forgetful in his day-to-today interactions with colleagues and even at public foras. Unconfirmed reports say that he recently went to the residence of his ministerial colleague Ashok Chaudhary to pay homage to his departed father. Instead of laying the wreath on his father's dead body, Nitish Kumar garlanded Chaudhary to the embarrassment of the entire family and others present. Earlier, he went to the house of another party colleague for a cup of tea and left the house only to return within 30 minutes saying he forgot to take tea. Sources assert that age is fast catching up with Nitish Kumar. He may be having some Neuro issue which crops up slowly. Nitish is 72 years old and medical experts say it may be related to weakening of muscles with age.

Kejriwal in Silent Mode

Capital is agog with reports that the Enforcement Directorate may knock at the doors of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal anytime in January next year. He may be spared during the on-going Parliament's winter session. A cast-iron case has been weaved by the ED as one of the key accused in the Liquor scam case, Amit Katyal, has started singing and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh is also on the verge of cooperating with the agencies. The AAP has suffered a massive setback in the recently concluded Assembly polls where Kejriwal faced humiliating defeat in state after state. In Chhattisgarh, the AAP put up 77 candidates ending up getting merely 0.93%. In Madhya Pradesh also, Kejriwal along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann campaigned extensively and ended up getting merely 0.54% votes. It put up 70 candidates hoping to get at least 10 seats. The AAP put up 88 candidates and ended up its worst showing by getting 0.38% votes.

2005 rule dug out to tame Mps

The TMC Lok Sabha MP, Mahua Moitra's alleged “cash for query” case has opened a Pandora's box for parliamentarians of both houses. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was quick to invoke the UPA era's 2005 Code of Conduct for Rajya Sabha Mps. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha invoked the Code of Conduct prohibiting Mps to take hospitality abroad from private persons/companies/foreign governments without bringing it to the notice/permission of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Rajya Sabha secretariat. The Code of Conduct rules were issued in 2005 but the same were never implemented due to the fragile nature of the coalition government of Dr Manmohan Singh. The rules asked Mps to inform both the MEA and the Union Home Ministry before accepting any invitation from foreign source and traveling abroad even on a personal trip. While the Rajya Sabha Mps are shocked over tightening of rules & procedures for foreign visits, the Lok Sabha secretariat is under pressure to implement similar rules for its 545 Mps. Surprisingly, the Lok Sabha has no such Code of Conduct for its Mps so far. Mahua Moitra, in a sense, was right when she said that she was not aware of the existence of any such code of conduct. It transpires that the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha may now come out with such code shortly.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fadnavis' trial balloon

The ruling BJP's face in Maharashtra and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is a master craftsman also. Recently, he fired a political balloon merely to test the waters and said that seat-sharing with the allies for the Lok Sabha elections has been clinched and the BJP will contest 26 seats out of 48. Obviously, the remaining 22 seats will go to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. But all hell broke when allies signaled that no such decision had been taken. It was also claimed that no such discussion took place either. Sensing the mood, Fadnavis tried to calm down the tempers. But the fact remains that the NDA partners had reached an understanding that seats of all sitting Lok Sabha Mps of the alliance will go to the respective parties. The BJP had secured 23 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and one by its support to an Independent candidate. The other two NDA factions will contest 11 seats each on the basis of this formula. But their public comments may have put the issue in cold storage. But the BJP is determined to contest 26 seats in 2024.

Film stars to be fielded by the BJP

The Lok Sabha polls may be 6 months away. But the BJP leadership is busy selecting winnable candidates along with elections in five states. Reports emanating from the BJP headquarters suggest that it is looking for new faces from the film industry to be fielded in the Lok Sabha polls. Hema Malini has already crossed the age bar limit of 75 years, she may not be fielded from Mathura this time. Sunny Deol has also conveyed his unwillingness to contest and the BJP has to find a new face in Gurdaspur. The BJP is already facing a tough challenge in Punjab without an ally and searching for a new face. Similarly, Kiran Kher has not been keeping well for the past some time and the BJP will need a new face in Chandigarh. The names of popular Hindi cine stars Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut and Madhuri Dixit are being mentioned in this regard. Akshay Kumar has been close to the Prime Minister Modi and even became an anchor to take an interview of the PM before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It is said that he may be fielded from Delhi's Chandni Chowk seat. Kangana Ranaut has already expressed her desire to enter politics and may be pitched from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat against Congress' Pratibha Singh. Madhuri Dixit may also be fielded from either Mumbai North or Mathura. Three Bhojpuri actors; Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Lal Yadav are already BJP MPs in addition to Locket Chatterjee (West Bengal) and Suman Lata, a Kannada film Star(Karnataka). The BJP wants some film stars from the South as well. Cricket star Virendra Sehwag's name is also doing the rounds to contest for Lok Sabha from Haryana.

Old Guards flexing Muscles !

The BJP leadership is facing a tough time as old guards in the party are reluctant to concede space. For them, Karnataka's powerful Lingayat leader B S Yediyurappa is a role model. The way BSY succeeded in ensuring that his son BY Vijayendra is installed as BJP president in Karnataka, has inspired leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhararaje Scindia and others in many states. Some of the senior leaders, including the BJP national general-secretary (organisation), BL Santhosh, Union minister Prahlad Joshi and others skipped the event where  Vijayendra  assumed charge, sending a signal that the gulf is widening in states. BSY also ensured that his loyalist R.Ashoka was installed as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. But not many are happy with the alliance clinched with H D Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (S). However, it was conveyed to BSY that this alliance is only for the Lok Sabha polls and he should not worry too much. Insiders in the BJP say that many of the senior leaders, particularly those dropped from the Union Cabinet two years ago, are eagerly awaiting the results of the Assembly polls in five states. If the BJP does not fare well in these polls, the high command may face difficulties and may be forced to placate them to contain growing uneasiness.

Nitish gone into a shell

After his controversial speeches in the State Assembly and Legislative Council last month linking how women are asserting their right to contain population growth, Nitish Kumar was forced to tender an apology. Since then he has virtually gone into a shell. Even his staunch loyalists in the party and outside are wondering what has gone wrong with a shrewd leader like him. Bihar is abuzz with bizarre tales concerning how an absent-minded Nitish Kumar, went to the house of a Cabinet Minister twice for a cup of tea. He sipped the brew and went away only to return after some time asking for the tea again. Many say his style and manner has undergone a sea change and sudden outbursts over the past sometimes have risen. Once a darling of the media, Nitish Kumar has stopped inviting journalists to his Janata Durbars and other important functions and that his office no longer provides information about his daily schedule. Recently, he indicated to waiting journalists to go away with folded hands and bending forward thrice. A senior JD (U) leader said Nitish will speak only after the results of five assembly polls are out. His decision on OBC Census has already put the BJP on the back foot. It is clear that the OBC Census issue is catching up fast and PM Modi will have to find a way to deal with it.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Selective amnesia

An impression has gained ground that Governors appointed by the Modi government are on a warpath with the non-BJP governments in states. The Governors are making the lives of elected governments in states miserable. For example, Jagdeep Dhankhar as Governor of West Bengal was constantly involved in a bitter battle with TMC's Mamata Banerjee which gladdened the hearts of the Prime Minister which finally led him to the coveted post of Vice President. It is no secret that Kerala Governor  Arif Mohammad Khan was in the race for the top post and crossed swords with the Left Front government led by Pinarayi Vijayan on one issue or the other. Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has also been involved in a bitter battle with the M K Stalin government. The Supreme Court finally stepped in when the matter came to head over Governors sitting over files relating to bills sent by respective state governments for approval.  Lately, Banwarilal Purohit who was sent to Punjab, also did the same to Bhagwant Singh Mann government. But not all the governors crossed swords with Opposition-ruled states  and many of them enjoy cordial relations with them. For example, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka and Congress Chief Minister Siddharamiah have extremely cordial relations so far. Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra is a good host to Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot though PM Modi bitterly accuses him of many scams and ED is also after his family members. 

 

Similarly, Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan is having a harmonious relationship with the Bhupesh Baghel government. The Telangana Governor, Tamilsai Soundararajan is another example of cordiality with the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao. Even her Andhra Pradesh counter-part Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been maintaining extremely cordial relations with Jaganmohan Redy government. The same goes for the Odisha Governor, Raghubar Das. Even his predecessor Ganeshi Lal enjoyed good relations with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. There is no explanation as to why some states are witnessing this selective amnesia.

Tit For Tat 

The Congress may be flexing its muscles in the expectation of winning Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls and claiming to have an edge in Telangana as well over BRS' K Chandrashekhar Rao. The Congress refused to share any seat with any of its INDIA allies in the Assembly polls. The Congress’ argument was that  the INDIA alliance is for the Lok Sabha polls only. The allies are now waiting to give the Congress back in the same coin in the Lok Sabha polls. Be it JMM in Jharkhand, Samajwadi Party in UP or even RJD in Bihar, all are upset with the Congress and in no mood to allocate more Lok Sabha seats to Congress than it actually deserves in 2024. Of the 134 Lok Sabha seats in UP, Bihar & Jharkhand, the Congress could barely win three in the 2019 General Elections. Even these three seats were won by the Congress in alliance & adjustment with these parties. If the Samajwadi Party lent it’s helping hand in UP, the RJD was an ally in Bihar and the JMM was with the Congress in Jharkhand. The Congress contested nine seats in Jharkhand in alliance with RJD & JMM leaving only five for them but  could win one seat. In UP, the SP-BSP-RLD were in alliance and showed magnanimity by leaving two seats- RaeBareli and Amethi – for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi respectively. Yet, Rahul Gandhi lost the seat while Sonia Gandhi retained with a slander margin. In Bihar too, the Congress contested 11 seats out of 40 and could win one only. Therefore, angry allies may not share seats with the Congress liberally in 2024. The RJD has made it clear that it will share only 8 Lok Sabha seats and not 11 as was the case in 2019. It intends to give three seats to other smaller allies like the Vikasheel Insan Party, etc. In Jharkhand, the JMM is unwilling to give more than 7 seats. In UP, the SP may concede 5 seats only. A tit for tat indeed.

 Emergence of another Yogi

The BJP may have found going tough in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But pollsters are predicting an easy win for the BJP in Rajasthan as the faction-ridden party finally closed ranks. The front-runner Vasundhararaje Scindia was in all smiles as the high command accommodated in giving Assembly tickets to her supporters. However, the BJP fielded many Lok Sabha MPs in the Assembly polls including Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari. But the most surprising pick was Mahant Balak Nath who brands himself as ‘Rajasthan ka Yogi’. The Alwar MP Balak Nath is testing his electoral fortunes from the Tijara Assembly seat which the BJP won only once in five decades. The constituency is dominated by Yadavs, Muslims, and Dalits. The Mahant belongs to the Nath sect of Hinduism and was born into a Yadav family. If the BJP insiders are to be believed, Balak Nath could be a surprise pick for the top job. No one has a clue as to why he was picked as he hails from Haryana and fielded in the Lok Sabha from Rajasthan in 2019. Balak Nath was seen even touching the feet of Yogi Adityanath when he came to campaign for him. But many in the BJP say that Balak Nath is being groomed as a rival to Yogi Adityanath. The rise of Balak Nath has given jitters to many in the state as well. It transpires that the RSS was also in favour of grooming him as he is an OBC while Yogi Adityanath is a Rajput.