How Priyanka Vadra had to rein in Supriya Shrinate
The Congress leadership came to a striking realisation this week: its social media team may have grown too powerful for the party’s own interests. Led by Supriya Shrinate, the team refused to remove a post on X that featured a poster apparently mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for going “missing” after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Shrinate herself publicly defended the post, standing by the team’s decision, until the post was quietly taken down. It ultimately required the intervention of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to ensure the post—originally conceptualised by a member of the social media team who openly identifies as a “journalist”—was deleted.
In a rare step, Vadra went further, uploading a circular signed by party general secretary K.C. Venugopal on her own social media account. The circular directed all Congress office-bearers to refrain from making unauthorised statements regarding the Pahalgam issue.
Viral reel stuns UP Chief Minister’s office
A viral video of a young woman creating a social media reel within the premises of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s office has stirred up the WhatsApp groups of bureaucrats and officials at the office. In the 47-second clip, the influencer is seen filming herself outside the gate of the Chief Minister’s office at Lok Bhawan, with the Bhojpuri song “Pyaar se samajh jaaiye nahi toh rel dia jaaega (understand the love language, otherwise you will be thrashed)” playing in the background.
Rumour has it that after the video went viral, senior officials reprimanded the security in-charge. The woman was identified as a Lucknow-based influencer known for producing such videos for her social media platforms. However, how she gained access to the Chief Minister’s office remains under investigation. The potential involvement of the Chief Minister’s social media or public relations team is reportedly under scrutiny.
Meanwhile, leaders from the Samajwadi Party have seized the moment, sharing the clip while pointing out that the influencer belongs to the Thakur community, and cheekily noting that the song’s lyrics complement Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “bulldozer governance” model.
Nayab Saini & Bhagwant Mann’s witty banter over water dispute
Even as Haryana and Punjab are locked in a tense dispute over the sharing of Bhakra water, their chief ministers—Nayab Singh Saini and Bhagwant Mann—have added a touch of humour to the conflict.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini adopted the classic “but we are family” approach, proclaiming Punjab as Haryana’s “rishtedar” (relative) and suggesting that relatives should not withhold water from each other.
Saini earnestly declared, with folded hands: “Punjab is our rishtedar; rishtedars don’t stop each other’s water!”
Bhagwant Mann, never one to miss an opportunity for a punchline, responded with a grin: “People in Haryana know rishtedari so well they don’t even drink the water from their daughters’ houses! When they visit, they carry their own water bottles. But here, Haryana isn’t just asking for a glass—it’s demanding canals full of water!”
Videos capturing Saini’s “rishtedar” plea and Mann’s witty comeback have gone viral across social media. An enterprising social media enthusiast even spliced the two clips together to create an amusing video narrative.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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