The feisty and very candid Smriti Irani was speaking on the Women’s Reservation Bill at the annual PAFI (Public Affairs Forum of India) conclave when she was asked about being sent to take on Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. She immediately shot back saying the reason she was sent to Amethi was not the gender card, not because she was a woman—but because of her leadership abilities to take up the challenge. During the discussion when asked if it was possible for politicians across party lines to unite on certain causes and bring about substantive change, she pointed out as the HRD Minister she had reached out to all former HRD Ministers when drafting the New Education Policy and this included Kapil Sibal, another candidate against whom she had contested an election (though she had lost that one). Since the discussion was around women, she was also asked about the Mahua Moitra case, where the minister cautioned against women playing the victim card.
The Digvijaya-Kamal Nath Equation
A video went viral where the Congress Madhya Pradesh chief Kamal Nath is heard telling disappointed ticket seekers that “Digvijaya and Jayavardhan (his son) ke kapde phaad do (tear their clothes)”. Later at the manifesto release Digvijaya tried to downplay the controversy, referring to the comment as one between brothers. For his part, Nath also clarified saying that he had told all those angry with Digvijaya to tear his clothes; to which Digvijaya responded that since it is Nath’s signature on the nomination forms, the power of attorney lies with Nath.However, the banter aside, the two have an interesting equation. Both are 76 years old and their career paths have often intersected, with one supporting the other. As long as there is an outside rival, be it the late Madhavrao Scindia and later his son Jyotiraditya, the Shukla brothers, Motilal Vohra, Ajit Jogi and even for a brief while the late Arjun Singh, both Nath and Digvijaya have joined hands. But when it comes to vying for the same prize—or ensuring that their respective sons’ careers take off—then there is a bit of jostling between the two. In fact, as a political analyst commented recently, the state is Kamal Nath’s to win until Digvijaya Singh opens his mouth and stirs a controversy with one of his infamous comments. Hence the key question: is Digvijaya okay with his on again-off again friend becoming the Congress party’s CM candidate, or does he harbour ambitions for a third term for himself? Watch his campaign for the state elections for the answer.
Politically Incorrect
Madhya Pradesh state minister Narottam Mishra came under fire when he made an anti-women comment recently. Speaking at a rally in his constituency, while recounting his development works, he stated that he had also got Hema Malini to dance in the constituency. This immediately went viral on the omnipresent social media and the opposition wasted no time in castigating him for his derogatory remarks. Thanks to the watchful social media, politicians now cannot get away with being politically incorrect on the campaign trail.