Pre-Truth — snappy, witty and significant snippets from the world of politics and government.
Rajasthan BJP’s birthday tweet triggers ‘realignment’ talk
That Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje doesn’t share a very cosy relationship with the BJP high command is well known. However, even her ardent fans were very surprised when the Rajasthan BJP Twitter handle tweeted birthday wishes to BJP leader-turned-Narendra Modi critic Yashwant Sinha Tuesday.
भाजपा के वरिष्ठ नेता, पूर्व केन्द्रीय वित्त मंत्री श्री यशवंत सिन्हा जी को जन्मदिन की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। ईश्वर आपको स्वस्थ एवं दीर्घायु रखें। pic.twitter.com/ilDqK21eH7
— BJP Rajasthan (@BJP4Rajasthan) November 6, 2018
What also didn’t escape attention, including the BJP central leadership’s, was the fact that the tweet featured prominent pictures of Sinha and Raje. A new alignment happening?
Why Jairam Ramesh has been flaunting a photo with Divya Spandana
Since Congress social media head Divya Spandana hit headlines last month after her Twitter bio disappeared for a few days, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has been at pains to explain that her public display of displeasure had nothing to do with him.
Jairam Ramesh has been telling anyone who cares to listen that he and Spandana are friends and reports of any rift between them are “nonsense”. And anticipating that nobody may believe him, he takes out his mobile to show a picture where he is shaking hands with the former actor, both of them all smiles.
Until recently, the Kannada actor-turned-politician’s rather brusque ways in dealing with senior party colleagues and her refusal to keep them in the loop about appointments in her department caused much unease in the party.
But they chose to remain quiet as she kept flaunting her proximity with Congress president Rahul Gandhi. All this while, they were left wringing their hands in despair even as her tweets kept embarrassing the party repeatedly.
She, however, overplayed her hand when she resisted Jairam Ramesh’s attempts to ensure coordination among the party’s communications, research and social media wings to send out a coherent message. Spandana wouldn’t have anyone oversee her work.
Relatively new to the power games in the Congress, little did she realise that Ramesh was Gandhi’s old trusted lieutenant. Gandhi expressed faith in former union minister Ramesh once again when he appointed him the convenor of the party’s core committee and also entrusted him with the Congress’ election strategy. Spandana’s wings were clipped soon.
Also Read: 2019 Lok Sabha elections not Modi vs Rahul battle, says Congress leader Jairam Ramesh
Murli Manohar Joshi would rather talk about food than Modi government
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who is now part of the party’s ‘margdarshak mandal’, was at his witty best during a Diwali milan with journalists at his residence Monday. An astute politician, Joshi was in no mood to court any controversy by responding to uncomfortable political questions, and chose humour as a way out.
Asked by a journalist what he thought of the Narendra Modi government’s current popularity, Joshi looked towards the food stalls and said all he could think about at that moment was the aroma coming from that direction.
When yet another journalist asked him what he thought of the government’s foreign policy, he quipped, “I haven’t even crossed the border in the last many years, except to go to Nepal. What can I say about foreign policy?”
Why the PM’s statement on Arihant miffed Navy puritans
Maritime puritans had something to grudge in the Prime Minister’s announcement that the INS Arihant had just concluded its first deterrence patrol. It had little to do with the three-decade-long wait and even less to do with the accomplishment.
The statement from the PMO and the tweet by the Prime Minister, retweeted by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, described the Arihant as a ‘Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine (SSBN)’.
The abbreviation was wrongly expanded. Naval puritans – and there are quite a few, given that the Navy is a highly anglicised force – say SSBN expands to “Ship submersible, ballistic nuclear”.
Sikh BJP neta heads for Ram janmabhoomi with a message for Supreme Court
With the calls for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya gaining fresh impetus, some leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have found an opportunity to make their presence felt.
One of them is BJP leader Sardar R.P. Singh of Delhi, who will travel to Ayodhya with four friends, all associated with the party, to light a lamp at the controversial site on Diwali.
Singh, a Sikh, said the decision to go to the “Ram temple” on Diwali was meant to send a message to the people in general and to the Supreme Court in particular.
“We have five sehzadas in our faith,” Singh said. “Now, we five friends are trying to set out on a path that concerns the faith of our fellow countrymen. This is to send a message that Sikhs are standing with them on the issue of Ram temple.”
Also Read: BJP unlikely to bring ordinance to push Ram temple construction
Why Manoj Tiwari’s Diwali milan was a lacklustre affair
It was a disappointing Diwali milan for Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, with most party MLAs and MPs giving the occasion a miss.
Barely a few months before the Lok Sabha polls, the capital city’s BJP unit is deeply divided and in disarray.
The annual event, held ahead of Diwali at the party’s 14 Pandit Pant Marg headquarters, was meant to be a show of strength for Tiwari. However, with the majority of party leaders deciding to stay away on one pretext or the other, the chinks in Tiwari’s armour were there for all to see.
The BJP high command may need to pay some attention to Delhi, which sends seven MPs to the Lok Sabha.
(Contributors: Maneesh Chhibber, D.K. Singh, Ruhi Tewari, Sujan Dutta and Pragya Kaushika)