Fixated on Modi

SELECTIVE OUTRAGE IS the prerogative of the secularist-liberal crowd. They blow out of all proportion the alleged flaws and failings of the Modi government while being completely oblivious to the most egregious acts of the non-BJP governments. Such blatant partisanship leaves no one in doubt that their professed faith in democratic values is only skin-deep. No wonder they enjoy little credibility. Fixated on Narendra Modi, the person they are unable to assess in a remotely objective manner. The champions of the free press who mutter profanities about the “godi media” remain purblind to the most brazen suppression of the media in the non-BJP states. A couple of days ago, one heard how Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had the temerity to warn the assembled newspersons that anything written against his government would result automatically in the denial of advertising. Apparently, he had singled out a newspaper group because it refused to fall in line, insisting on fair and objective journalism. Why, in Delhi, it is common knowledge how a designated media handler of the Kejriwal government dictates the stories and even decides the display in one of the larger newspaper groups, lest it be denied a sizeable portion of the humongous ad budget of the Delhi government. In fact, the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, remote-controlled by a few Delhi-based AAP members, adheres to the same template when it comes to media control. Meanwhile, the Mann government will be better advised not to disrupt the existing public health facilities in urban and rural areas by pulling out doctors from them to man the Aam Aadmi Clinics. A simpler solution will be to rename the functioning health facilities as Aam Aadmi Clinics and go to town with a multi-crore ad campaign in the media. Really, Kejriwal has turned out to be a master of hoodwinking.

WHAT EXPLAINS THE over 600 per cent increase in the war chest of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in just one calendar year? As per the audited accounts of various parties submitted to the Election Commission, Mamata Banerjee’s party reported total donations of over `545 crore for 2021-22. For 2020-21, it reported a relatively paltry sum of `74.4 crore. The Assembly election in the state does not fully explain such a stupendous growth in the party account. People who follow these things believe that the extraordinary jump in TMC’s bank deposits could partly be due to the fear of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and income-tax raids. Remember that Partha Chatterjee, a key minister in the West Bengal government who was close to the chief minister, and his friend Arpita Mukherjee were arrested following raids on their places in the cash-for-teachers’ appointment scandal. Over `50 crore in cash was seized in the raids. While in custody, Chatterjee is said to have told his interrogators that the seized cash belonged to TMC. Whatever the truth in his claim, the fact is that the fear of ED and IT raids have persuaded lots of people, especially politicians, to try and go legit, to shun cash in secret vaults at home or in undeclared bank vaults. Meanwhile, there are those who hint at a ‘deal’ between Mamata and Modi. Not only of late are the investigating agencies holding back, but the new Governor CV Ananda Bose, unlike his predecessor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, is actually on very good terms with Mamata Banerjee.

THE APPOINTMENT OF Kailash Chand Gehlot, the leader of the opposition in Rajasthan, as the new governor of Assam makes it at least one aspirant less for the chief ministerial post when the Assembly elections are held sometime later this year. Though former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje continues to be the most popular BJP leader, the party’s top leadership doesn’t seem to be particularly enamoured of her. For her part, Raje has kept a low profile after losing power five years ago. Given the Rajasthan tradition of alternating between Congress and BJP in Assembly polls, BJP seems to be well placed to return to power in the coming election, especially given the unresolved fight between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. But even in BJP, confusion over its chief ministerial candidate can hurt its chances. Meanwhile, with Kailash Chand Gehlot despatched to Assam, a section in the RSS-BJP is keen to draft Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat into Rajasthan for projection as the party’s chief ministerial candidate.

Gajendra Singh ShekhawatJagdeep DhankharNarendra ModiOppositionpoliticsTMC