Netta D’Souza unexpectedly caught Union Minister Smriti Irani on an IndiGo flight and fired a question about the rise in fuel prices. Ms D’Souza later tweeted the video where the minister was seen recording the encounter on her cell phone. Both the ladies did all that drama, forgetting the fact that flight is not the parliament. These days the biggest problem is that the ruling party leaders are not available to the people. They just give their virtual appearance or public appearance surrounded by battalions of security people. They are not approachable and that is the reason people don’t want to leave any opportunity to counter them.
In Maharashtra, they boil the entire politics down to the Hindu-Muslim spine. BJP alleging Shiv Sena of giving up Hindutva, Uddhav Thackeray always gives an explanation that he been committed to the “bhagva” (saffron) and Hindutva “unlike BJP which had different names like Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Jan Sangh which propagated different ideologies. BJP doesn’t hold “patent” on Hindutva It was late Sena chief Bal Thackeray had shown BJP that the combination of “saffron and Hindutva” will help in achieving power in Centre.
Joining virtually the campaign for Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) candidate Jayashree Jadhav, who belongs to Congress, for the April 12 by-poll from the Kolhapur North seat, Thackeray also blamed BJP for the defeat of the Shiv Sena nominee from the constituency in the 2019 polls despite the alliance between the two parties.
Andhra Pradesh is in another level of mess. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s new cabinet took an oath. Supporters of heavyweight leaders who were not included in the new team vented their frustration by protesting and sloganeering fouls. This time, four women, including former actress Roja, have taken oath as ministers. The supporters of two other former ministers are also on the warpath.
Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, a relative of the Chief Minister who was the first to trigger the rebellion on Sunday, has sent a message to the YSR Congress leadership that he would step down from his MLA post. Sources said he would meet the Chief Minister shortly. His supporters blocked roads in Ongole and parts of Prakasam district, demanding that he be re-inducted into the cabinet. Elected representatives of local bodies, including the Ongole Municipal Corporation, threatened to quit their posts.
While choosing his 25-member cabinet in June 2019, Jagan Mohan Reddy made it clear that they would have to make way for a new team midway through the 5-year term. This gave a chance to one-third of his 151 legislators to serve as ministers and keep them happy. Jagan Reddy had to do a balancing act, between political compulsions and social engineering, keeping 11 members of his original team and ensuring that 17 of the 25 ministers belong to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Backward Classes and other minority communities.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao set up a fresh confrontation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi just months after the central government’s climbdown on new agricultural laws, as he launched a sit-in protest in Delhi on Monday over a dispute involving the purchase of rice from farmers in his state. “If Modi has the guts, let him arrest me… With folded hands, I tell the PM and [Union Food Minister] Piyush Goyal. Please buy our food grains. I give you 24 hours, after that, we will take our decision,” said the leader who has been on the warpath with PM Modi for several months. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders led by the Chief Minister launched a day-long dharna against the centre on Monday in the national capital, demanding procurement of 15 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice from the state. This will be the party’s first protest rally in Delhi after coming to power in Telangana in 2014 amid mounting pressure back home over buying the produce from farmers. The party MPs, MLAs, all cabinet ministers, and elected representatives of urban and rural local bodies sat on a dharna at the Telangana Bhawan in Delhi.
The TRS intensified its protest and called the Delhi demonstration after the central government allegedly refused Telangana’s request to buy parboiled rice in the current crop season. Ahead of the dharna, the TRS put up billboards and posters with the slogans ‘one nation-one procurement policy’ and ‘protect the interests of farmers’ erected in and around Telangana Bhawan.
In Maharashtra, Raut and Somaiya scuffle is still on. Sanjay Raut accused BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil of absconding after being booked for allegedly siphoning off Rs 57 crore on the pretext of crowd-funding in 2013-14 to preserve India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Sena MP claimed that the duo may escape from the country and, hence, a lookout notice should be issued against them. Talking to reporters here, Raut also claimed that the father-son duo was outside Mumbai and Maharashtra and engaged in a “setting” to ensure they get anticipatory bail in the matter.
