Rumble In BJD

The usually calm waters in BJD have been stirred of late by a couple of developments. Veteran BJD leader and Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, setting off talk of whether the MP would switch sides to BJP. Mahtab described his meeting as a “courtesy call” but it came amid discussion in Odisha circles about his discomfort with a coterie, sometimes described as the ‘collegium’, which surrounds Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. During the meeting, Modi recalled having met Mahtab’s father Harekrushna Mahtab, who was Odisha’s first chief minister, sometime in the late 1970s. The prime minister, then an RSS pracharak, had accompanied Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh founder Dattopant Thengadi, whom Modi holds in high regard, to Bhubaneshwar where he met Mahtab Sr. Though there was no direct reference to current politics, the conversation and Modi’s pointed recollections do suggest Mahtab would not be unwelcome in BJP. The other developments roiling BJD are the rumbles of the recent cash-for-queries controversy involving an opposition MP. Allegations have been levelled that a prominent BJD MP may also be linked to the controversy making headlines. The BJD leader has denied any connection and threatened to sue a state BJP leader for his comments on the matter. But observers say none of the principal personae has been able to concretely deny the charges flying around. BJD is also following the events closely in light of claims that the MP in question had a connection with the business interests that have surfaced in connection with the controversy. The episode has engaged Delhi’s political grapevine, long starved of a juicy scandal.

Congress Vs I.N.D.I.A.

Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath’s impatient “Akhilesh, Vakhilesh” remark, a dismissive reference to SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, has set off a row that has taken on a life of its own. A livid Akhilesh refuses to let things lie and SP leaders have been critical of Congress even as ‘Akhilesh-for-PM’ posters have come up in Lucknow. It is apparent that Congress’ state leaders have little time for the demands of I.N.D.I.A. partners who are looking for helpings at election time irrespective of the pious platitudes of party spokespersons who talk of tiffs as ‘family matters’. SP leaders are busy telling other constituents of the alliance that the manner in which their party has been given short shrift indicates how Congress will conduct itself if it finds itself in a position of strength after the current round of state elections. Leaders like Naveen Patnaik have for long kept away from such opposition alliances as they feel such arrangements are not cohesive. They are also wary of any association with Congress that helps the party to re-enter their turfs.

Maldives’ Choices

New Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who has called for the withdrawal of Indian military presence from the archipelago, is the latest in a long string of leaders in several developing and third-world countries who have pursued shortsighted policies intended to please China but which resulted in serious problems for their nations. The Indian foreign ministry did not mince words in reminding Muizzu that India has been the first responder to any crisis in Maldives, and this included medical evacuations of more than 500 individuals. It was also made clear that India underwrites Maldives’ security through its naval, coast guard and airborne forces, besides having given the nation defence equipment like fast interceptor boats. Muizzu has looked to rake up populist sentiments without caring for the impact on Maldivian security and economy. Now India has reminded him that disengaging with Indian defence forces will be accompanied by a cost. Although securing Maldives and the crucial stretch of the Indian Ocean it straddles is important for Indian interests as well, the benefits to Maldives are obvious. As a large neighbour India could well have been more overbearing but successive governments acted with restraint and always sought to improve the lives of Maldivians. One has only to look at how China treats its smaller neighbours to realise how things would have turned out if the communist regime had been next door
to Maldives.

New First Class

For long the first-class coach has been the epitome of luxurious train travel providing space and privacy to passengers. The problem is that a coach can accommodate just 24 passengers and this means tariffs are high and bookings can be tough to get as well. Now railway designers are experimenting with a coach with a greater height that will allow variations, such as sleeper with seating, or even with a three-tier structure. All this will help accommodate more passengers and also provide options that were not available. First-class coaches are sought after by higher-end passengers as well as those travelling with pets which are not permitted on regular sleeper coaches or even in chair cars. Pet lovers are hoping that their animal companions can be allowed in chair cars just as some airlines permit four-legged passengers. Pets, it is felt, could be allowed on short-haul journeys to begin with.

Helping Gaza

India’s decision to send humanitarian assistance to Gaza and Prime Minister Modi’s statement expressing concern over a missile explosion at a hospital is being seen by some commentators as a ‘balancing act’. While it may well be intended to convey to India’s partners in the Middle East that it is not insensitive to the condition of Palestinians, it does not in any way dilute New Delhi’s sense of solidarity with Israel. The prime minister’s initial condemnation of the Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians is was exactly what it is—an unambiguous signal of support. That was not the time, as many Global South nations did, to talk of a two-state resolution to the conflict. For all the outrage in Arab and North African capitals, not one of these nations is offering to take in Palestinians, not even Egypt that shares the other border (apart from Israel) with Gaza. A specious explanation appeared in some Western media that this was because Egypt did not want an ‘emptying’ of Gaza which would suit Israel’s interests. The real reasons are concerns about hosting thousands of refugees and the presence of Islamist radicals in their midst. Egypt’s military rulers returned to power by deposing a Muslim Brotherhood government and jailing Islamist leaders. The Muslim Brotherhood and its founding leaders are the inspiration for Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Contrary to left-leaning commentators, the Islamist aspect of the Palestinian struggle was evident soon after hostilities broke out after the British Mandate in Palestine ended in 1948, with the Muslim Brotherhood inserting itself into the events.

About The Author

Open