The Fitness Test
I&B Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore’s fitness test has gone viral on social media ever since he issued a fitness challenge to Virat Kohli, with even the Prime Minister and other ministerial colleagues such as Jayant Sinha joining in. But what is interesting is that Rathore is currently undergoing physiotherapy for a shoulder injury, but still managed the push-ups on the video clip when he issued the challenge. Though, if you ask me, the real fitness test is how Rathore is the only minister to survive in the I&B Ministry, which has such a revolving door.
The Missing CMs
The BJP had prepared a presentation for the media to celebrate four years of the Narendra Modi government. Interestingly, when it came to showcasing various government schemes at the state levels, the one Chief Minister whose face was shown the most, flanking the Prime Minister was Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh. That is understandable, since the state is set to go to polls soon. But so are the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, but neither Vasundhara Raje nor Shivraj Singh Chouhan made it to the presentation. Is it because they are currently not in favour with the top two? Or was it a genuine oversight?
Na khaoonga aur…
At a media lunch to celebrate Modi@4, Nitin Gadkari was present along with party chief Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh. The Roadways Minister was looking very upbeat minus all the kgs he has shed. From a 130 kg he is now down to 91 kg, so clearly he has been able to maintain his weight post his bariatric surgery. In fact, he was busy handing out diet tips to all the journalists who had gathered at his table, as a result of which most went without their dessert, for it didn’t seem fair to tuck into the halwa and ice-cream while all Gadkari ate was broccoli soup and fruit.
Food for Thought
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal was at the fast called by the BJP to protest against the Parliament washout last month when he was faced with a very unique “conflict of interest” of sorts. That was the day that the railway caterers were to make their presentation to him. So while on a dharna along with the rest of his colleagues, he also participated in the conference with the caterers and viewed their presentations—via Skype! Guess that’s one way of ensuring he stuck to his hunger strike amongst other things.