Priyanka gets a subject in UPPSC irregularities reports to break silence after elections
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra broke her silence on Twitter Friday after a gap of 10 days. The AICC general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh cited a newspaper report on irregularities in UP public service commission examination to criticise the Yogi Adityanath government. But her long silence has baffled Congressmen and BJP leaders alike.
Ruling party leaders were upset that she hasn’t even congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his victory in the Lok Sabha elections. She hadn’t even reacted to her brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s victory in Wayanad and loss in Amethi, the constituency where she campaigned. For a leader who has been hailed for her connect with the masses and sound understanding of politics, Priyanka’s silence has given opposition leaders the opportunity to accuse her of lacking grace in defeat. Before Friday, her last tweet was on 20 May on the eve of her father late Rajiv Gandhi’s death anniversary.
Delhi weather kills joy at PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony — for second time in row
The weather in the national capital Thursday, recording a whopping 45 degrees Celsius, proved to be a big killjoy at the otherwise glitzy oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers. The ceremony in 2014 at the same venue was no different as Arun Jaitley’s son who had come to witness his father taking oath fainted due to dehydration. This year it was Ram Vilas Paswan, who reached the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with his wife to take oath, lost his balance and immediately called for a chair to sit as he could not stand. He was given water and some fluids before he could regain his strength.
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Ram Nath Kovind’s secretary owes a lot to his predecessor for honour at swearing-in event
At the swearing-in ceremony of the new Union council of ministers in the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt Thursday, Sanjay Kothari, secretary to president Ram Nath Kovind, had the honour of announcing the names of ministers for oath-taking. He should be thankful to his predecessor Omita Paul, former secretary to former president Pranab Mukherjee. Earlier, it was the cabinet secretary who used to announce the names of ministers. Paul, a powerful confidante of the former president, got the convention changed in 2014, replacing the cabinet secretary with the secretary to the president — that’s herself.
(Contributors: Pragya Kaushika and Ananya Bhardwaj)
The next five years belong to the incumbent. If and when it stumbles, the opposition will have its say. Else periods of restraint, if not silence, as Ms Priyanka Gandhi seems to be observing, are merited.