Delhi wants good relations with Dhaka
Bilateral relations between New Delhi and Dhaka are improving by the day. Not only the Narendra Modi government, but also the RSS and BJP are keen to improve India’s relations with Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s Information and Broadcasting Minister, Hasanul Haq Inu, who is in New Delhi, has been invited by the RSS dominated organisations such as Vivekananda Research Centre, India Research Foundation among others for interactive sessions. Even the ABVP leadership of JNU has invited Inu.
Congress confused over Balochistan
A confused and divided Congress leadership is flip-flopping over Balochistan. While the Congress’ media chairperson Randeep Surjewala and Anand Sharma supported the PM on Balochistan, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid opposed him. Surjewala described Khurshid’s stance as his personal opinion. Khurshid is, however, adamant that supporting Balochistan’s freedom would undermine India’s high moral ground vis-a-vis Pakistan. He has P. Chidambaram’s support in this. Khurshid is also claiming that his is the party line, contradicting Surjewala. No one knows what the Congress line is on this.
Rahul unfurled flag
In the absence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi unfurled the Tricolour at the Congress headquarters on 15 August. This was a break from the practice of the senior most leader of the party unfurling the flag in the absence of the party president. Last time when Sonia Gandhi had gone for a check-up, Motilal Vora had unfurled the flag. But this time it was Rahul, the party vice president who unfurled the flag, thus taking over the reins of the party, unofficially. The senior leaders too seem to have accepted Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. The first sign of this came on 15 August when Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmad Patel accompanied him from 10 Janpath, just the way he would accompany the Congress president. At the flag hoisting, Motilal Vora was seen standing behind Rahul Gandhi, as was Janardan Dwivedi, the Congress vice president’s bitterest critic. Even former PM Manmohan Singh was standing behind Rahul.
MP dares Rahul
A Congress MP bumped into Rahul Gandhi somewhere in Parliament recently. On seeing him, Rahul expressed his surprise that he was not meeting him that often. The outspoken MP told the party vice president that when their minds did not meet, there was no point meeting each other. Rahul replied that the MP must find out why their minds did not meet, to which the MP replied that it’s Rahul who should do the finding. Some other Congress leader later admonished the MP for being so outspoken with Rahul. “I don’t consider him my leader. My leader is only Sonia Gandhi,” the MP retorted.
Anand Sharma is snubbed
Erstwhile AICC secretary and the current member of the OBC Commission, Shakeeluzaman snubbed the Anand Sharma in front of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Independence Day. Rahul Gandhi had sat down for a cup of tea with Congress leaders after the flag hoisting ceremony at the party headquarters, when Sharma started giving a speech on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to Balochistan and Pakistan in his Independence Day address. When an incessantly talking Sharma launched on his favourite topic, South Africa, Shakeeluzaman lost his patience and asked him to stop indulging in “intellectualism” and not waste time by telling Rahul Gandhi about South Africa. At this even Rahul Gandhi looked relieved. Then of course the others got a chance to speak. In fact, Manmohan Singh complained that the economy of the country was going from bad to worse under the NDA government. He also complained that the NDA was just renaming his policies and passing them off as its own.
Congress forgets Quit India anniversary
The Congress forgot to celebrate the anniversary of Quit India movement this year. The Congress rank and file is blaming Janardan Dwivedi, the AICC general secretary whose job it was to organise the function. “If Sonia Gandhi is unwell that does not mean that an over hundred-year-old party will stop functioning,” remarked a Congress leader. The buzz is that Dwivedi is not on talking terms with Rahul, decided to black out the celebrations.