More Chance than Planned?
Recently, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Akhilesh Yadav “bumped” into each other on the same Vistara flight to Lucknow. Although the meeting was cordial, with the duo ending on a “let’s meet again soon” note, it has sparked off speculation of alliance talks between the two. Some in the Congress are also wondering if the SP leader had planned this “chance” encounter by booking himself on the same flight. However, others in the SP camp rubbish this saying that Akhilesh is not keen on an alliance at all,especially after the disastrous results of the last polls where the Congress could convert only 7 of the 105 seats he had given the party into winning slots. In fact, whenever he looks back on the mistakes of 2017, the alliance with the Congress stands out in his list, along with the fact that the family feud took away the time he could have spent campaigning. More importantly, SP sources say that Akhilesh has not taken kindly to Congress workers targeting him in his constituency Azamgarh, for there is no way they could have done this without Priyanka’s okay.
Take a Break
Recently a vacation shot posted by former JNU student leader turned CPI member turned Congress leader went viral on social media. The picture showed Kanhaiya Kumar vacationing at a mountain resort, sitting with his feet up, reading a book. This immediately sparked comments that the comrade had taken to the armchair ways of Congress leaders and instead of hitting the streets he was relaxing in resorts. While the criticism may be unwarranted, the picture does stand out from his earlier posts which show him either addressing a rally or mixing with the public. If there is a standalone picture of his on Instagram it’s one that sends a message with him wearing a tee that says “Men should be glad women want equality not revenge”.But he has joined a party that believes in allowing leaders to enjoy their time off, so it’s unlikely that his leadership will have any problems with his holiday break.
Looking Beyond SRK
Is there a larger message behind Aryan Khan’s arrest that goes beyond Shah Rukh Khan’s politics? SRK may belong to the minority community, but he has kept away from endorsing a certain line of narrative, even clicking a selfie with the Prime Minister. So if this is not about SRK’s politics, is there a general message to the Bollywood community at large? Or is the message limited to drug abuse and cautioning young kids from falling into this trap? Some of the debates have also looked beyond at the “draconian” NDPS law under which this investigation is going on, for that is a law framed to grab headlines such as No Bail. That has been the debate that has dominated our TV studios over the last fortnight, down to the very dramatic Bollywood tagline—will the son make it home for Diwali? Another offshoot from the Aryan Khan debate is the importance investigating agencies place on WhatsApp chats as evidence. Speaking on the NewsX-Sunday Guardian Roundtable, Sanjay Hegde, a senior advocate with the Supreme Court pointed out, Whats App chats seem to have made investigating agencies lazy. To which former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar countered that telephonic conversations have always been a part of any investigation. The key point being that these have to be backed by groundwork and solid evidence.