Anita Katyal | Sonia Has a ‘Sporty’ Confidante; Ladakh Heads for Stormy Days

“Politics makes strange bedfellows” is a well-known saying which sums up how people from opposite sides of the political divide often join hands for a common purpose. This was clearly evident during last week’s high-voltage election for the post of secretary (administration) of the Constitution Club of India, set up for current and former lawmakers. The election was won by BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who was pitted against party colleague Sanjeev Balyan. Though victory belonged to a BJP leader, it was the Opposition which was cheering the loudest while Mr Rudy’s own party maintained a stony silence. Club members from the Opposition parties had lined up in favour of Mr Rudy, not because they have any special affection for him, but only because Mr Balyan was said to be Union home minister Amit Shah’s choice. The fact that BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey, known to be Mr Shah’s hatchet man, was campaigning openly for Mr Balyan was sufficient reason for the Opposition members to come out in large numbers to vote for Mr Rudy. They had essentially turned up to defeat Mr Shah but, in the process, Mr Rudy was able to beat 25 years of anti-incumbency and retain the key post in the club.

Guess who has become a permanent “saathi” of senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Parliament? It is Ranjeet Ranjan, also known as Ranjeeta and wife of the high-profile and newsmaker Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav. She is currently serving as Rajya Sabha member enabling her to bond with Sonia Gandhi who moved to the Upper House after she decided to opt out of electoral politics. Not only is Ranjeet seen accompanying Sonia Gandhi in and out of the Rajya Sabha, she was also chosen to speak on the National Sports Governance Bill as she is known to be a keen sports buff and a tennis player. The party’s decision to field Ranjeet in the debate clearly disappointed former sports and youth affairs minister Ajay Maken as he had been the architect of the bill which was rejected by his party and government.

Here are a few vignettes from the ongoing session of Parliament where more drama has been witnessed outside than inside. For instance, several Opposition MPs who participated in last week’s protest against the Election Commission’s ongoing exercise to revise Bihar’s voter lists, were seen sporting T-shirts with the name and picture of “Minta Devi” displayed on them while the words “124 not out” were written on the back. The Opposition parties alleged that Minta Devi was listed as a “first-time voter”. While this made for a great photo-op, a number of MPs felt left out as they could not find T-shirts of their size. Several Congress leaders remarked jocularly that the T-shirts appeared to have been made for people of Rahul Gandhi’s size while there were only a few which were marginally bigger. Many joked that since they are fat and not particularly fit, they had been denied an opportunity to wear this T-shirt. This session has also seen the emergence of new friends. Rajya Sabha MPs Jaya Bachchan and Priyanka Chaturvedi appear to have good buddies as they are often seen together even though the film star-turned-politician snapped at her younger colleague to “stop controlling” her during a debate. And then, the two Priyankas — Chaturvedi and Vadra — walked into Parliament together one day. Both were all smiles even though Priyanka Chaturvedi was upset that the Congress MP had not supported her when she had complained of sexual harassment at Mathura.

The run-up to Independence Day on August 15 was particularly hectic for government officers. They were kept busy as each ministry was given a specific target on the number of photos or selfies they were required to upload on various websites as part of the “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign. The culture ministry, which has been tasked to run this campaign, was set a target of a hundred uploads. Here, citizens are asked to hoist the national flag and share their experience on an official portal for which they can get a digital certificate and an e-card. Though this is meant to be a voluntary exercise, the ministries were set targets as the government was obviously keen to notch up a record number of uploads.

Ladakh could be heading for a spell of political turmoil as there are reports that communication between the Union home ministry and the Leh Apex Body-Kargil Democratic Alliance has snapped. The two sides were in talks on Ladakhi's demand for statehood with an assurance that ethnic and tribal rights would be protected under Schedule 6 of the Constitution. The current impasse is being attributed to the appointment of Kavinder Gupta, former state deputy chief and BJP leader from Jammu, as Ladakh lieutenant governor. The people of Ladakh have not been enthused with his appointment as Mr Gupta is considered a political lightweight. At the same time, the emergence of educationist-environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk as a key figure in the ongoing Ladakh movement has not helped matters either, for it has brought together traditional rivals — Leh and Kargil — on a common platform.