Abusing Israel for Votes

The Ummah comes above national interest, not just for Muslim hardliners but also the two big political parties that operate in Kerala—CPM and Congress. Both are in the thick of a competition to woo the minority community by calling Israel names in the backdrop of its attack on Iran. The current conflagration in West Asia has given both parties yet another opportunity to publicly demonstrate their manufactured anger over extraterritorial issues. They have not said a word so far, though, on the violence and atrocities, including beheadings and vandalising of temples, committed on Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the taluk and district-level leaders of the political parties have been threatening Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dire consequences, both for the attacks on Iran and for the sorry state of the people of Gaza for over a year-and-a-half now. Assembly elections in Kerala are due in its 140 constituencies before May 2026 and every vote counts. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has posted a strong statement on social media condemning Israel for its actions against the Palestinians in Gaza. The state goes to polls next year too.

Rahul’s Diminishing Act

The last time Rahul Gandhi’s vacation kicked up a big controversy was around the yearend. When India was mourning the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Leader of Opposition vanished from the country. It was later learnt that he was vacationing in Vietnam. He chose Vietnam again in March, amid the Budget Session of Parliament. Now, he has gone again on a private vacay, reportedly flying to Doha on June 11 and then on to Cairo on the same day. He also left behind a season of sweltering heat, his apparently passionate chorus for a caste-based census, demands of Prime Minister Modi that he reply to several questions on the Pahalgam terror attack, etc. It is this very lack of responsibility that has made him redundant.

Modi’s G7 Detractors

For weeks, the self-styled liberal brigade and Congress party leaders gloated on social media that Narendra Modi had not got an invite to the G7 summit in Canada. They pointed to it as proof of a failed foreign policy. The attack was mainly left to be made by Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, who do not let facts or patience mar their narratives. When Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney extended the invite, it was proof that Ottawa was keen on a reset of soured relations with India. Modi graciously accepted. But Ramesh and Khera have not sealed their lips yet.

The Loneliness of Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar had made a sport of fuelling merger speculations whenever leaders of his NCP became restive. Just a month ago, rumours were rife that Pawar Sr had initiated active talks to unite his faction with the NCP of nephew Ajit Pawar, now a deputy chief minister in the Mahayuti government. The talks were reportedly a concerted bid to consolidate the voter base of the party ahead of the October 2025 urban body polls and to prepare for the 2029 general election. But in June, Pawar Sr said that he would take along only those who subscribed to the ideology of Gandhi and Nehru, and not those who joined BJP “just for power”. The tactic appears to have no takers,
not just with the BJP leadership but even Ajit Pawar now, with both seeing Pawar Sr as totally unreliable.

University Lessons

Ashoka University’s founders have realised they have been throwing good money after a bad idea. One of its founders, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, shot off rebuttals on X to Yogendra Yadav who had written that the university had failed to support Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad adequately when he was arrested, ostensibly for an objectionable post related to the Pahalgam terror attack. Yadav said that education by its very nature was meant to question authority. Bikhchandani would take none of that lying down, though. He pointed out in his post that industrialists funded the university and its scholarships. He also suggested that while leaders like Yadav have
a deep mistrust of industry and continue to attack it, they need its money.

Sherpa Steps Down

Amitabh Kant has announced that he is retiring as G20 Sherpa, after 11 years of being a strong bureaucratic pillar to the Narendra Modi government. Much credit for a smooth sailing of the 2023 G20 Summit under India’s presidency has to go to Kant for his untiring efforts to bring all countries on the same page. Through all the hard work, though, Kant never lost his sense of humour, as seen in his book, How India Scaled Mt G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency. Amid rising tempers during negotiations, for instance, Kant decided that India’s south pole landing on the moon, the first ever in human history, would be streamed live, triggering excitement and much applause for India.

Amitabh KantAshoka UniversityIndian politicsIsrael-Iran conflictMuslim votesSharad Pawar