Akhilesh Yadav and the I.N.D.I.A bloc
The Samajwadi Party chief is fast becoming one of the most visible faces of the I.N.D.I.A bloc along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. In fact the “UP Ke Ladke” are often seen working in tandem especially on the floor of the House. Whether it is the Agniveer scheme, the NEET exam, the budget or taking on the Speaker by accusing him of being partisan and favouring the Treasury benches, both Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi seem to be raising similar issues. But, the bonhomie may run into rough weather if the Congress tries to assert itself as the “Big Brother” in the alliance. This much was obvious at the India News Manch, held in the national capital recently, when Akhilesh was asked about the Congress plan of setting up a shadow cabinet. The media has been rife with this speculation but the SP chief said he had yet to hear about this from the Congress. However, when asked as to who would be the PM face of this shadow cabinet, he gave a knowing smile and said, there can be many PM faces. Clearly, he is not ready to play second fiddle to the Congress any more.
Is the BJD next on BJP’s target list?
Recently BJD leader Mamata Mohanta quit the party and joined the BJP. She also quit her seat in the Rajya Sabha, reducing the BJD to a presence of eight seats in the Upper House. This move came after a national daily had printed that Naveen Patnaik’s favourite V.K. Pandian was teaming up with a cabinet minister in the Modi government at the Centre to break the BJD. The report was condemned by none other than Naveen Patnaik himself, who called the statement “false, motivated, defamatory and malicious”. Pandian’s intentions aside, the BJP does seem to be eyeing the BJD as a low hanging fruit. Particularly as it needs to shore up its numbers in the Rajya Sabha before the President and the Vice Presidential elections that are due in 2027. Although the elections are still three years away, don’t forget that the Home Minister is known to leave nothing to the last minute.
THE MAHABHARAT IMPACT
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made a caustic observation when he reprimanded a BJP MP to keep his questions short and to the point, instead of going into a long narrative. “Aap Mahabharat mat sunao aap prashana poochho (don’t tell long stories but ask your question),” he told Pradip Purohit, the BJP MP from Odisha when the latter went off into the ayurvedic history of herbs while posing a question to the Ayush ministry. And then, the Speaker added with a smile, these days quite a few people are quoting from the Mahabharata. Given the fact that the Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had referred to the Chakravyuh during his speech on the budget it was clear as to whom Om Birla was sending a message to.