Mahua, Maratha stir Indian politics as ED-Kejriwal play a cat-and-mouse game

Hello dear readers! We meet again after a week of drama that has unfolded in the great Indian political theatre. Sometimes I feel our political leaders love the Bard of Avon, especially his comedies, and thus never fail to disappoint us with their statements against each other. And with Assembly elections in five states looming over our heads, the political mudslinging have only intensified in the past week.

Two of the biggest issues this week were TMC’s firebrand MP Mahua Moitra being summoned to a hearing of the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee after allegations against her saying that she had shared her House login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani, and the political turmoil witnessed in Maharashtra over the Maratha quota issue after activist Manoj Jarange went on an indefinite hunger strike in an attempt to arm-twist the government into accepting his demands.

Moreover, there is tension brewing within the Congress government in Karnataka after BJP’s Basanagouda Patil Yatnal hinted at an attempt at another Operation Lotus. Moreover, some Congress workers have also been saying that Siddaramaiah will not remain the chief minister for the full five years.

Let us now take a plunge into the details and go through the drama that played around Indian politics last week:

The mayhem of Mahua

TMC MP Mahua Moitra has been dominating headlines since allegations first came to light accusing her of taking money from a businessman in order to raise questions in the Parliament against the Modi government and Adani. Moitra was called by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on October 31, but she refused to attend the same, saying that the summons was released to the media before she was intimated of the same.

Following this, the LS panel asked her to appear before it on November 1, which she did. However, the meeting went awry as a visibly upset Moitra was seen storming out of the same along with MPs from the I.N.D.I.A bloc. Moitra alleged that the panel members asked her “personal, unethical questions” and labelled the same a “proverbial vashtraharan”.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been continuing to accuse her of trying to sway the narrative, with Nishikant Dubey, the ruling side’s MP who filed the complaint against Moitra, saying this was the “darkest day of parliamentary history”.

Mobs run amok for Maratha share of the pie

Although Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram are going to polls this month, it is Maharashtra that has been at the centre of India’s political discourse this week. The issue of Maratha reservation has been going on for some time, but this week things took a violent turn when mobs in Beed district torched houses of two NCP MLAs.

Activist Manoj Jarange also took to a hunger strike and resolved to not even undergo a health checkup until his demand of a separate quota for the Kunbi community was met. It was only after four Maharashtra ministers met and assured him that the matter would be taken up in the state assembly that Jarange agreed to break his fast.

The Maharashtra government also organised an all-party meet in which CM Eknath Shinde did not invite his former leader, Uddhav Thackeray, whose party the former wrung away, to discuss the Maratha reservation issue. After the meeting, there was a positive indication of a quota, as announced by Shinde himself.

When a blast and loss of lives fail to bring leaders together

One of the most shocking events of the past week was a blast at a convention centre in Kerala that led to three deaths. Post this, Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on social media that he believed the state government’s appeasement politics led to the blast. This led to two cases being lodged against him in the state.

'AAP ka' Kejriwal gives ED a miss

After the Supreme Court denied to grant bail to former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the excise policy scam case, the Enforcement Directorate decided to summon CM Arvind Kejriwal for questioning. 

In a surprise move, Kejriwal decided to give the ED summons a skip and instead attended a political campaign rally in Madhya Pradesh. He even sent a letter to the central agency, asking it to revoke the summons since it was "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".

Shah’s below-the-belt jibe at Rahul, Priyanka

India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been campaigning effortlessly to ensure a victory for his party in the poll-bound states, said in an election rally in Madhya Pradesh that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are “of Italy origin” and since won’t understand the development work done by Modi.

This is an interesting way to deal with the Opposition. Whatever they accuse you of, just say “you won’t understand” and move on!

Here, there and everywhere: Opposition accuse Centre of spying on them

After the Pegasus scandal in 2021, some Opposition leaders have now received messages on their iPhones from Apple that have claimed that they are being targetted by state-sponsored attackers. It would not have made headlines had it been a one-off incident, but the same message has been received by the likes of Shashi Tharoor, Mahua Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Raghav Chadha, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Pawan Khera.

The BJP has of course denied all such claims. The Centre has deployed the CERT-In, India’s cybersecurity agency, to conduct an investigation into the matter, and has also asked the Cupertino, California-based tech giant to cooperate with the same.

To be or not to be CM…that is the question haunting Siddaramaiah

While the BJP in Karnataka has been constantly poking the Congress government by saying that it will fall soon, and so, the BJP does not even have to choose a Leader of the Opposition in the state. 

The Congress’s problems in the state do not end there, since their is disquiet in its own ranks. For some time now, loyalists of CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar have been taking shots at each other, with some DKS loyalists claiming that Siddaramaiah will not be CM after 2.5 years.

The CM has, however, categorically dismissed these statements as false, with AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala also warning MLAs and ministers to not make such statements in public. 

Freebies galore

After the Congress ensured a thumping victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections, political parties across the country have been promising freebies and guarantee schemes to lure voters, and this time it is no different. On November 3, Amit Shah released the BJP’s manifesto for the Chhattisgarh elections, in which the party has announced financial assistance for married women, LPG cylinders for Rs 500, and a host of other benefits if they are elected to power.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have also announced a number of benefits in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, respectively.

Indecisive I.N.D.I.A

The I.N.D.I.A bloc, which had gathered steam soon after its announcement, is now finding itself in some disarray, with a number of allies being unhappy with the Congress. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, the man who brought the Opposition together in the first place, has now said about the grand old party, “There are Assembly elections in 5 states. Congress is more interested in it. We were all working together to take the Congress forward but they aren’t worried about all this. Their interest is more in the Assembly elections right now.”

Even in Telangana, the CPI(M) wanted to contest the elections together with the Congress. However, after no consensus could be reached on seat sharing, the Left party has now decided to not go into an alliance and contest the election alone.

States vs Governors

In states ruled by the BJP, somehow the Governors and the state governments do not seem to be getting along. The case is the same in the northern state of Punjab to the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and also in the eastern state of West Bengal.

M K Stalin, the TN CM, is in constant tussle with Governor R N Rav. He has already accused Ravi of being a “BJP man” and turning his office into a “BJP office”. Stalin had earlier also slammed Ravi for not signing bills passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly.

Even in Punjab, CM Bhagwant Mann has said that Guv Banwarilal Purohit has threatened to impose President’s rule in the state. To facilitate his argument of the governor being heavy-handed on him, Mann has said, “I want to ask Governor Sahab, has the Haryana Governor issued any notice to Haryana Chief Minister Khattar regarding what happened in Nuh, communal clashes and violence which took place there and curfew that had to be imposed? Did the Haryana governor write any letter to Khattar? No, because their government is also ruling at the Centre.”

The Kerala government has also resorted to moving the Supreme Court, alleging that Governor Arif Mohammad is not discharging his constitutional duties by choosing to not sign bills that have been sent to him for approval.

Garland the grief

The price of onions has shot up recently in the country once again, and to protest the same, Congress leader Ragini Nayak, in Bhopal, decided to wear a garland of the kitchen stable for a press conference.

"The price of onion has shot up to Rs 80 per kilogram. Some days back, the price of tomato was Rs 200 to 250 per kg. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should tell us why the price of onion is leaving people distressed," the Congress spokesperson said.

India abstains from Gaza vote in UN

India decided to abstain from a vote on a truce on the Israel-Hamas conflict that has been raging on since October 7. This led to the Opposition slamming the Centre, with leaders like Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi condemning the same. Priyanka said she was “shocked and ashamed” at the fact that India had decided to abstain from the poll.

Who is Gabbar? Kamal Nath has a name

Bollywood and politics are the two topics India can’t have enough of, and it seems the legendary movie has found its way into MP politics just before elections. The Congress has labelled the bonhomie between its leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh as akin to the one between the characters Jai and Veeru in the legendary film.

In a dig at this statement, state CM and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the Jai and Veeru of Madhya Pradesh are fighting over the distribution of “plundered booty.”

Not one to shy away from such digs, Kamal Nath was quick to reply that if he and Singh are the Jai and Veeru pair, it is the CM who is Gabbar Singh. Kitne admi the, CM saab?

PDA in politics? Akhilesh clarifies

Netizens were taken aback when Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party took out a rally with PDA written on it. Millennials and Gen Z usually associate this acronym with something different altogether, but what the SP meant with PDA was 'Pichra' (Backward Classes), 'Dalits' and 'Alpsankhyak' (minorities). That’s quite an abbreviation, eh?

In other political happenings around the country, Mamata Banerjee has given the Centre an ultimatum to ensure that Rabindranath Tagore’s name is included in the plaque that celebrates his school, Santiniketan, as a UNESCO World Heritage. Chandrababu Naidu, who was arrested and later got a bail in the Skill Development scam case, has fallen ill and is currently hospitalised for treatment. BRS MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy was stabbed in Siddipet where he was campaigning for his party.

These are the major events that shaped Indian politics this week. Let the drama unfold in the coming week and we shall bring you a collection of such stories once again. Until then, adieu!