Political Gup-Shup: Of aspiring netas and vacant posts

Is I&B minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in line for the vice-president’s post, which falls vacant next year? That’s the buzz in New Delhi, especially since Mr Naidu goes out of his way to be seen and heard by his party bosses. It is four months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi reshuffled his Cabinet and shifted Mr Naidu from the parliamentary affairs ministry and replaced him with Ananth Kumar but if the last two Parliament sessions are anything to go by, it is difficult to believe that Mr Naidu is no longer the parliamentary affairs minister. Mr Naidu is quick to take on the Opposition both inside and outside Parliament. As soon as the Rajya Sabha is adjourned following the mandatory disruptions by the Opposition, Mr Naidu comes out to brief TV channels about the developments. It is a normal practice for a parliamentary affairs minister to brief the press every evening about the legislative business the government plans to take up, how it plans to tackle the Opposition’s demands and the debates listed in the coming days.

As it happens, Mr Naidu is continuing to brief mediapersons, now in his capacity as I&B minister. Mr Kumar also meets the press but since he is not as forthcoming as Mr Naidu, he gets a passing mention while Mr Naidu gets full play in the media. But mediapersons are not complaining as Mr Naidu invariably has some interesting nugget for them, unlike Mr Kumar. Since the Opposition parties had given a call for a Jan Aakrosh Diwas on November 28, they asked the Rajya Sabha chairman and deputy chairperson to adjourn the House soon after it assembled because they would, in any case, not allow it to function as they had to participate in protest marches. It was even suggested that instead of making any attempts at running the House, it might be a good idea to announce an adjournment as a mark of respect to the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Parliamentary affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was present at this meeting, said he would get back to them after consulting his leaders.

The top bosses in the Narendra Modi government, however, did not agree to this as any laudatory reference to Castro might be offensive to the new US administration. With the government rejecting its suggestion, the Opposition had no choice but to disrupt proceedings. It was only after this orchestrated protest that the Opposition succeeded in having its way. The Punjab-based Shiromani Akali Dal was baffled when its leaders were recently approached by a group of political leaders from Manipur who wished to join their party. Apparently, this group camped in Chandigarh for several days to get an audience with Akali leader and Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal to make a formal request. They are reported to have told him that they had identified the Akali Dal as their choice after they examined the pros and cons of doing business with other political parties. They even produced character certificates from the police when bemused Akali leaders dithered over their request on the plea that they may be taking them for a ride.

Not only do they want to set up a state unit of the Akali Dal in Manipur, but this group also wants to contest next year’s Assembly polls on its ticket. Surprised at this request, the Akali Dal leadership is still trying to figure out how these politicians from Manipur hope to benefit from joining a party which has no presence in their home state. The delay in appointing the next chiefs of the R&AW Wing and IB has led to speculation that the two current chiefs may get an extension. R&AW is currently headed by Rajinder Khanna whose term is ending in December. It is the same case with the IB head Dineshwar Sharma who took charge in December 2014 for two years. Officials from the two agencies have been suggesting that the new chiefs be appointed at least a month in advance to enable them to work with the outgoing bosses to help them settle down fast in their new posts. According to grapevine, the two officers may be given an extension, as the government is busy with the implementation of its demonetisation scheme. The R&AW chief, it is said, has been sitting in on the high-level meetings called to review the government’s progress on this. Mr Sharma, on the other hand, is an expert on Pakistan and Islamic terrorism and has worked with national security advisor Ajit Doval.