By Nora Chopra
VARUN GANDHI IS FAVOURITE OF BJP CADRES AS UTTAR PRADESH CM CANDIDATE
The BJP finds itself in a quandary regarding its strategy for the most important and populous state of Uttar Pradesh. . Two recent reports given to the BJP president Amit Shah by the party’s organising secretary of the state Sunil Bansal have taken the following views. Party workers from over 50 districts of the state have expressed their preference for their candidate but they want to know whether the BJP would project a CM face if at all. The other report was from the RSS workers of the state down the district level pracharaks. In both these reports Varun Gandhi has been reported to be overwhelming favourite of the cadres as the CM face with almost 70 per cent of the votes going to him. Rajnath Singh being a poor second with just under 20 per cent. SmritiIrani who has been aggressively posturing for a larger role in the state could only secure 1 per cent. Amit Shah asked Bansal whether the findings of the reports were indeed accurate as it had to be passed on to the PM. Given the perceived distance between the BJP president and the young Gandhi, it would be interesting to note how the BJP strategy changes in the state post these findings.
ASHWANI KUMAR BLAMED FOR NOT PROPERLY TACKLING NATIONAL HERALD CASE
The former law minister Ashwani Kumar may be lobbying hard for a renomination to Rajya Sabha but the question being asked within the Congress whether he would or should actually be gifted a second term of the upper house. Fingers are being pointed at Ashwani Kumar who was the law minister when SubramaniumSwamy filed the National Herald case. What did he do then? That was the same time when the then prime minister Manmohan Singh‘s coal scam also came up for hearing but the Manmohan case was stayed and he was saved from the embarrassment of appearing in the court. But the Congress president was not given any relief. She and her son continue to run to the courts,
PILLAI’S ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CHIDAMBARAM ARE CAST IN SUSPICION
IshratJahan did not have any terror links and that she and her aides were killed in a fake encounter, say the sources in CBI. The claims made by the then home secretary G K Pillai is that IshratJahan was not killed in a fake encounter and that she had LET links. He has even raised questions on the credibility of the CBI. This allegation has been disputed by the former CBI director Ranjit Sinha who was then the chief investigative officer. Sources in the CBI claim that the brief given to the CBI by the court was to investigate who were involved in the fake encounter. And it was a fake encounter beyond doubts because the law of the land says you cannot kill even when the person is a terrorist. The CBI sources claim that IshratJahan and her aides did not have any terror links. Sinha’s supporters say that even Kasab was tried. But G K Pillai, the home secretary under the then home minister P Chidambaram has alleged that there was political intervention and the then home minister PC had changed the first original IshratJahan case affidavit which described IshratJehan and her slain aides as LET operatives. Pillai has alleged that PC had personally made controversial changes in the affidavit and dropped Ishrat and her aides links with LeT. As for Pillai he says that he got the revised affidavit after the HM had made the changes. The revised affidavit said that the IB inputs did not provide any conclusive proof that those killed had terror links. But Chidambaram says that he was the home secretary and it was his equal responsibility what stopped him then to make this revelation. And the Congress leaders are asking why did Pillai take seven years to reveal these facts. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that NarendraModi and Amit shah got him a job in prime minister’s friend and favourite industrialist GautamAdani’sAdani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (SEZ). He is now director in the Adanicompany.
UTTARKHAND BJP WORKING FOR FALL OF CONGRESS MINISTRY IN THE STATE
Even when the assembly elections are still a year away, the exodus in the Congress is likely to begin. Five sitting MLAs including two ministers and one ex MLA are planning to join the BJP. These MLA’s are in touch with the BJP minister Choudhury Virender Singh. The BJP is using Choudhury Virender Singh to work on to split the Congress party in Uttarakhand. Once these MLAs quit the Congress, the Rawat government will lose its majority which has 37 MLAs in a house of 70. These Congress MLAs are upset with Harish Rawat for promoting his family and the interests of his confidantes only .His daughter is the general secretary in the All India Mahila Congress. His son is general secretary in the PCC and even his son’s father in la made the general secretary and Rawat’s brother in law is now member of a. committee. The BJP is using Choudhry Virender Singh to create a split in the Government.
JAITLEY, PAWAR HOLD TALKS ON BCCI AFFAIRS
A meeting took place between ArunJaitley, JyotiradityaScindhia and SharadPawar last week at Jaitley’s residence. The agenda of the meeting was the series of tweets of SubramaniumSwamy talking about how his next mission is to unearth corruption in BCCI. Pawar casually mentioned to Jaitley since Swamy was his party colleague and it would be right if he talks to him to avoid future embarrassment to all concerned. Jaitley is supposed to have jokingly added that with colleagues like Swamy there was no need of opposition. Talking to him would make matters worse. Scindhia who was listening to the conversation between Pawar and Jaitleyquipped that since he had lost the election to BCCI VP post, he would be less of a target now. He however added jokingly,’ this is one election that I am happy to lose.’
BJP SOUNDED OMAR ABDULLAH FOR COALITION WITHOUT SUCCESS
The BJP had recently used a prominent industrialist to reach out to Omar Abdullah last week to stitch together a possible alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP had offered the chief ministership of J&K to Omar with a cabinet berth to his father in the centre. However when Omar held meetings with senior party colleagues, they warned him strongly against the alliance stating that the anti BJP feeling in valley was so rampant that even touching the BJP would be akin to political suicide. Meanwhile after Ram Madhav met Mehbooba they have finally decided to go. (IPA)