Pawar on Pawar

NCP chief Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar’s comments about a meeting at industrialist Gautam Adani’s Delhi residence in 2019 continues to make ripples. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Dada’s claim that Adani was present at a discussion between BJP and NCP leaders, including his uncle Sharad Pawar—Ajit as well as Pawar Sr later clarified that Adani was not himself present—has not damaged the ruling alliance much. While the Uddhav Sena and Congress accused BJP of colluding with industrialists to bring down the MVA government, the episode has raised several questions about Sharad Pawar’s involvement or preparedness in doing business with BJP. The Maratha veteran said he has known Adani for long and did not deny being part of the discussion. Though the reference to the industrialist created a stir, most of Dada’s story is not new. In a lengthy speech to his legislators after he joined hands with BJP last year, Ajit had detailed more than one contact between BJP and NCP. In an interview, he said he and other senior leaders like Praful Patel were instructed to negotiate with BJP “over phone” but the plan did not work as the interlocutors pointed out that talks on government formation do not take place over mobiles. Dada said NCP had called for the exclusion of the then undivided Shiv Sena but BJP had refused, saying the Sena was an old ally. BJP offered a tripartite arrangement along the lines that currently exist and its position on the Sena stands in contrast to the latter’s decision to ally with Congress and NCP in 2019. All in all, Dada’s interview and subsequent comments of the likes of Sharad Pawar and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis reveal the absurdities as well as twists and turns in Maharashtra politics. None of the main players can claim the moral high ground as the events really test the adage that politics is the art of the possible.

AAP to BJP

AAP leaders suggest that the exit of Kailash Gahlot, former Delhi transport minister, has to do with his “proximity” to Lt Governor Vinai Saxena and resentment at Atishi being chosen as chief minister. No doubt, personal ambition is a stronger driver for decisions politicians arrive at, but there is no denying that Gahlot’s departure is a blow to AAP as he was a durable leader with a following among Jat voters in Delhi. He has also been able to launch a few schemes, unlike many other AAP announcements. Particularly damaging are his criticism that governance came to a standstill after Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED as well as revelations about the official residence Kejriwal occupied which has come to be called “Sheeshmahal” for its opulence. Kejriwal’s refusal to name a replacement during the time he was in jail severely impacted the Delhi government’s functioning and the city’s residents, in particular those living in slums and jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) colonies, bore the brunt during this year’s long and harsh summer. There is every possibility that Gahlot may have more to say even as he wasted no time in joining BJP the day after he quit the Delhi government. With elections in Delhi due in February next year, the BJP versus AAP scenario is getting more intense.

The Godhra Story

The attack on the Sabarmati Express on the morning of February 27, 2002, in which 59 passengers were burned to death, triggered communal riots that swiftly engulfed parts of Gujarat. The report of the Railway Protection Force recorded events on the day the train was attacked with clinical accuracy. The train was brought to a halt soon after it left the Godhra station with the emergency brake being pulled near Signal Falia. A waiting mob attacked the train with stones that had been kept piled up while cans of petrol similarly kept at hand were used to set coach S6 on fire. There was continuous incitement over loudspeakers from a mosque nearby and the mob scattered only after an RPF contingent rushed to the scene and opened fire. The mob soon gathered for a second attack when the RPF announced that anyone approaching the train would be fired on. Despite the clear sequence of events, there have been unceasing attempts to dilute the role of the attackers, with a commission set up during the UPA’s tenure even suggesting the fire might have been started inside the coach. Now a film, The Sabarmati Report, released in theatres on November 15 is attracting attention for telling the story of Godhra, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the truth is coming out in place of fake narratives. It has taken time, but the film casts fresh light on the riots. In 2005, the UPA government informed Parliament that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus had been killed in the rioting, the latter mostly in police firing apart from the Godhra toll.

The Yogi Effect

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is an in-demand campaigner for BJP and though there are 10 Assembly bypolls in his state, he has been busy in Maharashtra where he did not hold back from his ‘Batenge toh katenge (Divided we perish)’ slogan—read as a call to counter minority mobilisation. He swiftly counterattacked Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s charge that the UP chief minister was being divisive by referring to Kharge’s family suffering at the hands of the Razakars, the Islamists who opposed the merger of Hyderabad with India. Yogi’s pungent criticism that Kharge was unable to name the villains of his own personal tragedy for political reasons silenced the veteran Congressman. Though he is Congress president and fluent in Marathi, Kharge is seen to have a limited role in Maharashtra which polled this week along with Jharkhand. Some commentators wondered at the leader releasing the MVA manifesto in Mumbai, thinking it might have been more useful if the event were presided over by Uddhav Thackeray or Sharad Pawar, or for that matter Rahul Gandhi.

Help from Kim’s Korea

The possibility of North Korean troops fighting on behalf of Russia would have seemed farfetched even a few months ago. Not any longer. According to the US-based Hudson Institute’s report, Pyongyang despatched a 10,000-strong contingent of troops under no less than three generals and possibly 500 officers for operations in the war in Ukraine. Reports suggest the North Koreans and Ukrainian forces traded fire in the Russian region of Kursk. Although intelligence is hard to come by, North Korean troops are believed to be equipped with assault rifles, 60mm mortars, RPGs, sniper weapons, night-vision equipment and hand grenades, reinforcing the assessment that these are special forces light infantry units. “The US Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that many of these brigades are from Pyongyang’s 11th Corps special forces unit. This corps is considered a strategic force and is trained to open a second front in a conventional conflict or attack an enemy’s rear area,” the Hudson report states. The direct involvement of North Korean troops is more for EU nations to mull over even as the mood in the grouping is bitter given Iran’s generous supply of military drones to Russia. Any help will be welcome as far as Russia is concerned, but as has been noted in this column earlier, Moscow will not be
very happy about its new dependence on North Korea which is a client state of China.

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