Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh):
Number One!
The government formed last year is going to complete one year in office, and now, its performance is being evaluated. Many in the corridors of power are also trying to find who is close to the head of the government. When the government was formed, there were speculations about: among the ministers who would be the closest one to the Boss? Because the government is completing one year, the minister – the closest one to the Boss – is apparent. There are reports that the head of the state counts on a low-file minister. The department the minister is heading is not very significant, but he has been made in-charge of an important district. If the head of the state finds any opportunity, he may allot an important department to his man of confidence. In politics, the minister is close to those with whom the head of the state has good relations. This is the reason that both have been close to each other for a long time, and immediately after the formation of the cabinet, the low-profile minister got a berth in it. At a time when the government is completing one year, it is clear that the minister is nearer to the head of the state than his other cabinet colleagues are.
Moolah and minister
There are many stories about a minister and the way he makes moolah. In the past few years, the minister has made a lot of lucre, which his son and another person are managing. The amount of dough that the minister has made has increased so much that the minister is planning to set up a big project to invest the money in it. They are planning to set up a hotel besides the minister entering into a deal with some people to invest money outside the state. He is also holding talks with some companies which are working in the state. The probe agencies have given feedback to the Union Government about the minister’s underhand deals. Those who are close to the minister are on the agencies’ radar. So, they may glower at his aide, and may not spare the minister, too, in the coming days.
Hidden chasm
Two leaders of the Congress may seem to be together, but the rift between them is not hidden from the public eye. After the party’s victory in Vijaypur, one of the two leaders has been praising a former legislator of the party for the win. The leader made a post on social media, giving credit to the one who switched over to the BJP from the Congress, for the success. This leader does not want the party organisation and a legislator and former minister to take the credit for the triumph. In fact, this leader has an old rivalry with the legislator’s father. So, he is averse to giving credit to his old adversary’s son. On the other hand, the MPCC president is getting credit for the party’s victory, which again the leader is opposed to. Those who are close to the leader are making such posts on social media as may indicate that the leader was responsible for the party’s success in Vijaypur. The way the leader is working shows that he may not be allowed to cling to the important position he is holding for a long time.
Futile repentance
A Congress legislator who switched over to the BJP before the Lok Sabha election is now repenting. The legislator took a major decision on the advice of a minister of the ruling party. She hoped that the BJP leaders would deploy their arms to admit her into the party. Six months after joining the BJP, she has realised that he took a wrong decision. The ruling dispensation has stopped giving her any importance. The attention, which she was getting from the officers in the district when he was with the Congress, has gradually reduced after her switchover to the BJP. Now, for everything, she has to seek the help of the minister on whose advice she defected to the BJP. The legislator is also not getting any attention from the BJP organisation. After the Vijaypur by-poll outcome, the BJP does not want her to resign from the House membership and seek a fresh election. Because the present assembly has still a long term to go, she is making all efforts to save her House membership and political career.
Minister silenced
The Vijaypur by-election outcome has drawn lines among the leaders in the BJP, too. After the party’s defeat, the statement of a Union Minister was in public discussion. This union minister did not canvass for the party candidate, but the BJP leaders did not buy his arguments for not taking part in the electioneering. The reply the minister got from the BJP organisation was beyond his expectations. Its leaders publicly turned down the reasons he put forward for not campaigning for the party candidate. There are reports that top leadership in Bhopal as well as in Delhi has the support behind the reply given by the party. The union minister has kept mum after the statement. The by-election has created a rift between the minister and the state leadership. The supporters of the minister also look worried after the party issued such a statement. They think lest it should have an impact on them. It may have a bearing on the BJP politics in the coming days.
Devilish pet
There is a maxim: “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often, but if a man bites a dog that is news.” The adage is attributed to Alfred Harmsworth, John B Bogart and to Charles Anderson Dana. That, who said it, is no more a piece of information, because of Goggle Baba who can reel out everything at one go. But if a dog bites a minister, that is also news. And it happened. When the minister was at home, his pet sank its teeth into his palm. Though the minister was writhing in pain, he was happy, thinking it was less gut-wrenching than back-biting. However painful his palm may have been, he preferred a government hospital to a private one for treatment. The minister queued up at the OPD of the hospital and got proper treatment for the injury. The minister was so impressed by the care at the hospital, that he narrated his experience on social media. Through his account, he appealed to citizens to go to the government hospitals in preference to the private ones. But thank God. The days of giving fourteen injections around the navel after a dog bite ended nearly 44 years ago. Else, he would have cursed his dog as well as the doctors.
