The Parkash Singh Badal government celebrated the golden jubilee of the formation of Punjab with great fanfare at Amritsar last week. Besides showcasing the culture and history of the state, the government also gave awards to prominent Punjabis. While the roll call included a number of familiar names, there were several glaring omissions, which did not go unnoticed by the audience. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh to have held the post for a record 10 years, was missing. Similarly, former Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and former Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill were not honoured.
One Akali Dal insider said Dr Singh’s name was on the initial list but he was not sure how it disappeared. Different explanations were offered by the other party leaders but they maintained there was little point in calling the former PM and the others associated with the Congress as they would have declined to attend. But Bikram Singh Majithia, a Cabinet minister in the Punjab government, came out with the a forthright answer. The Akali government, he explained, could not afford to be seen in the company of Congress leaders on a day which marks the anniversary of the 1984-anti-Sikh riots.
When the Election Commission organised a two-day international conference on voter education recently, press persons evinced unusual interest in the names of the participants from Nepal. The reason was not far to seek. The meeting was being held at a time when the media had carried reports suggesting that Nepal election commissioner Ila Sharma and former Chief Election Commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi were romantically involved. These reports were subsequently denied by Mr Quraishi.
Realising that their conference would be washed out if they announced Ms Sharma would be attending the two-day meet, the organisers took a conscious decision to maintain that she would not be attending the meeting. But it now transpires that Ms Sharma did participate in the conference and was seen in deep conversation with Mr Quraishi. Interestingly, the two were said to have met at a conference in Mexico last year. The organisers are pleased at keeping her participation a secret.
Two ministers in the Narendra Modi government have hit the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. First, minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju castigated mediapersons for questioning the government, saying it was not a good culture. He made this comment when questions were asked about the manner in which the MP police shot dead eight terror suspects who had escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail. Even as Mr Rijiju was being flayed for this statement, former Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh, generated a fresh controversy when he questioned the mental state of Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal who committed suicide.
To make matters worse, the minister said the jawan was a Congress worker. According to the Delhi grapevine, the two ministers have fallen out of favour with the leadership and are making such statements in the desperate hope that Prime Minister Modi will be impressed with their loyalty. However, in an effort to win back the leadership’s trust, the two ministers have only ended up embarrassing the government.
Like all other state units, Rajasthan Congress is also wracked by factionalism. Though former Union minister Sachin Pilot was named president of the Rajasthan PCC over two years ago with the purpose of promoting younger faces. Mr Pilot’s appointment had the blessings of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who is keen that Gen-Next be given greater responsibilities in the party organisation. However, the old guard is not ready to give up. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who still retains a hold over the state unit, is not allowing Mr Pilot to function who has been branded as an outsider. In fact, the buzz in Rajasthan is that Mr Gehlot will eventually oust Mr Pilot if and when the party manages to regain power in the desert state. In fact, Mr Gehlot’s recent appointment as chief of the Congress screening committee for the Punjab Assembly elections is being seen by his supporters as a clear sign that the former chief minister still enjoys the trust of the party leadership which is not willing to let go of him so soon.
The writer is a Delhi-based journalist
