Anita Katyal | Phogat vs Saina in Haryana polls? Sonia, Jaya seen mending fences
Will it be Vinesh Phogat vs Saina Nehwal in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections? This possibility cannot be denied given the Congress stand as well as former badminton champion and Bharatiya Janata Party member Nehwal’s statements following Phogat’s disqualification from the final wrestling bout at the Paris Olympics. As soon as news about Phogat’s disqualification was flashed, the Congress moved in quickly to accuse the government-controlled Wrestling Federation of India of denying her necessary facilities during her preparations for the Paris games. The Opposition charged that Phogat was discriminated against because she was among those who led last year’s street protests demanding an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers by former WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The Congress war cry soon resonated with people in Haryana with khap panchayats and farmers coming out in Phogat’s support. Well aware that the Congress is all set to make the Phogat episode the centrepiece of its election campaign, the BJP swung into action. Besides sending top lawyer Harish Salve to Paris to take up Phogat’s case on behalf of the Indian Olympic Association, there was a timely interview by Saina Nehwal heaping praise on the Modi government for improving facilities and budgets for sportspersons after it came to power in 2014. The interview was tweeted by MyGovIndia, leading to speculation that the BJP may field the former badminton champion in the Haryana election.
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The growing proximity between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party has had an unusual fallout: a rapprochement, though still at a delicate stage, between estranged friends Gandhis and Bachchans. This was evident during the recent Budget Session of Parliament when Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan were seen greeting each other which was followed by a combined protest by the two parties when there was an exchange of hot words between the celebrity film star and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. It was interesting to see Sonia Gandhi stand back while Jaya Bachchan held forth before the media after the Opposition walk-out. This renewed friendship has clearly baffled the Congress. The day the pictures showing Sonia and Jaya in the same frame came out, those in the party who had taken potshots at Amitabh Bachchan being ignored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ambani wedding were running for cover. Meanwhile, a discreet message has been conveyed to the Congress party’s social media team to delete any such tweets against the Bachchans.
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For the last 10 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah exercised total control over the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party organisation. Ministers and party leaders kept a low profile, afraid to speak up or express their view publicly for fear of reprisal. But there has been a sea change after the BJP failed to get a majority on its own in the last Lok Sabha election. Party leaders are now feeling emboldened to air their grievances publicly as there is all-round acknowledgement that the BJP did not fare as well as it had hoped to do because of centralisation of power and the preference given to lateral entrants from other political parties. Dissidents in various state units are even feeling brave enough to call up media-persons to complain about the internal affairs of the party. It started with Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and now it is the turn of Assam and Karnataka where the appointment of B.S. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y Vijayendra as state party president has failed to end the infighting in the party.
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Where is the fiery Congress youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar? The former student leader-turned politician has clearly dropped out of sight after he lost to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Manoj Tiwari in the recent Lok Sabha election. Kanhaiya has not been seen or heard ever since his resounding defeat. During his poll campaign, Kanhaiya Kumar would often declare that he had forced the Prime Minister and home minister to campaign in Delhi’s northeast constituency where he was battling it out against the BJP candidate. Kanhaiya would often state that after he wins, top BJP leaders will be forced to camp here on a regular basis. People, both inside and outside the Congress, refer jokingly to Kanhaiya’s election speeches and point to the irony of the situation.
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While sport shooter Manu Bhaker has predictably become an instant celebrity after she won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympic games, her coach Jaspal Rana has also come in high praise for he is said to be responsible for transforming her into a world-class champion. Naturally, both Bhaker and Rana have been inundated with congratulatory messages while media-persons have been queuing up to interview them. But surprisingly there has been no congratulatory message for Rana from Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami even though the shooting coach belongs to the hill state and his shooting academy is based in Dehradun. Dhami was, however, quick to tweet, heaping praise on Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh for wining a bronze in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event and also when she won her first medal. But no mention of Rana.