Vinesh to wrestle with politics; 'scam' race heats up in Karnataka; #MeToo movement spills over
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After a heartbreak at the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat is now set to wrestle with the beast that is Indian politics as polls approach in multiple states.
Joining the Congress with Bajrang Punia amid much fanfare, Phogat, the face of the wrestlers' protest against ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh, is set to contest the Haryana Assembly Elections, where she could very well be pitted against cousin Babita Phogat, who represents the BJP.
Elsehwere in India, poll preparations have begun as well, with Jammu and Kashmir set to see its first election in over a decade, and the shadow of a fallen Shivaji (statue) and an apologetic PM haunting the ruling coalition in Maharashtra ahead of the polls.
Kolkata and West Bengal continue to simmer over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, with politics around the issue now eclipsing the issue itself—that of pervasive rape culture and lack of safety for women.
Down south, BJP and Congress are continuing to trade barbs over who committed the biggest 'scam' in Karnataka, while revelations in the wake of the release of the Hema Committee report have now spilled across southern states, with similar reports being called for in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Mudslinging in Maharashtra
The week began with a rare apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who scrambled to control a fallout in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the wake of the collapse of a statue of Shivaji.
"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity," said Modi reverently, before quickly changing the subject and highlighting how the Congress insulted Savarkar.
Not impressed by the PM's concession, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) protested anyway and demanded the BJP's ouster from the nation.
While the BJP didn't leave India, much to the disappointment of the MVA, Modi certainly left the country, flying to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, far from the cacophony of opposition protests and Rahul's demand for another apology.
Poll-y-amorous
With polls fast approaching in J&K (despite some dillydallying by the Election Commission), loyalties have begun to shift, and fast.
Amid brewing discontent in the BJP over ticket allotment, several leaders jumped ship last week, prompting Union Home Minister Amit Shah to step in: after the saffron party released its poll manifesto and asserted that Article 370 was 'history', Shah sought to ease anxieties within the party by organising a meeting with leaders and workers.
Wrestling with fate
Having suffered a massive sporting setback despite a spirited showing, Vinesh Phogat, who recently spoke on farmers' issues as well, threw her proverbial hat into the ring for the Haryana polls, in a bid to help the grand old party wrest control of the state from the clutches of the BJP.
Recounting how the BJP's women leaders had snubbed the protest against Brij Bhushan, Phogat said that the Congress had stood with the protesting wrestlers, and indeed, with the women of the country,
Phogat's speech, however, did not impress the BJP, who quickly accused the Olympian of changing colours—from 'desh ki beti' to 'Congress ki beti'.
Bengal burning
'Beti' also dominated the headlines this week, with the R G Kar case festering into political sepsis amid continuing protests in the state that also saw the victims' parents join in.
As the Bengal government passed and forwarded to President Murmu a strict anti-rape bill—Aparajita—and Mamata demanded that the PM, Home Minister, and CMs of BJP-ruled states resign over ineffective rape laws, people were left wondering what took the mercurial Bengal CM this long to tighten the net.
Despite resigning as the party's spokesperson earlier, JD(U)'s K C Tyagi jumped on the opportunity to suggest what he said would be a "pro-women" measure in this regard—castrate rapists—and lamented Mamata's "unfortunate" attitude.
The BJP was also quick to dismiss the new anti-rape Bill as a 'diversionary' tactic and promptly burnt tyres across the state to drive home their point.
Emergency on 'Emergency' by anti-Emergency govt
Far from the fumes of burning tyres in Bengal, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut fumed as her movie, imaginatively named Emergency after the very same event of 1975-77, got stalled after failing to get a CBFC certification.
Flouting the BJP's directive to remain silent, an incensed Kangana railed against the delay, blaming 'communists', 'leftists', and the CBFC, before expressing her 'disappointment' in the country for the postponement of her first solo directorial project.
'Dirty Picture' spills over
The #MeToo upheaval in the Malayalam film industry in the wake of the release of the Hema Committee report has spilled over to other states, with similar demands being raised in Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Even as more allegations of perversion emerged from the Malayalam film industry, rape-accused actor-cum-MLA Mukesh was assured by the CPI(M) that he need not resign, days before he was granted bail.
There's a crack in everything, that's how the (p)light creeps in
Under fire over the #MeToo revelations, the CPI(M) government in Kerala found itself in the middle of another controversy this week, this time, involving allegations from party members.
Accused by MLAs of shielding corrupt IPS officers in the state, CM Pinarayi Vijayan scrambled to contain the fallout, triggering speculations that he was being cornered within his own party.
A 'scam' too far?
Since the Congress' victory in Karnataka, politics in the state has largely centred around allegations and counter-allegations of whether the erstwhile BJP or the ruling Congress had committed the bigger scam.
From MUDA allegations against Siddaramaiah to the Congress' allegations that the BJP misappropriated over Rs 1,000 crore during Covid-19, bickering over 'scams' has reached a fever pitch in Karnataka, with no resolution in sight.
ED-mitted
Extending its stellar record of putting opposition politicians behind bars, the Enforcement Directorate this week zeroed in on AAP leader Amanatullah Khan and arrested the MLA on money laundering charges linked to irregularities with the Wakf Board and for the alleged possession of disproportionate assets.
As the AAP compared Khan's arrest to crackdowns on revolutionary figures and equated it to 'hooliganism', Delhi excise policy case-accused Vijay Nair and Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar's were let out on bail, much to the ire of DCW chief Swati Maliwal. Kejriwal, himself, however, was not as lucky.
The Yogi who cried wolf
Politics is a game of opportunism and no one demonstrated it better than Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, who used the plight of villagers in Bahraich to attack Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Retorting to the SP chief's remark on the rampant use of bulldozers in UP, Adityanath likened Akhilesh to the 'killer wolves' in Bahraich, asserting that a Bahraich-like situation was the political reality of the state prior to the BJP's victory in 2017.
With the latest exchange, UP seems poised to finally provide an answer to the nature vs nurture debate, come next elections.
(B)uch ado about nothing?
Following fresh revelations by US-based shortseller Hinbenburg against SEBI chief Madhabi Buch, the Congress sought answers from the 'silent' PM on what it alleges amounted to a conflict of interest. The PM, however, busied himself with signing bilateral deals as the grand old party continued its tirade.
A debate for the ages
As PM Modi zipped around Southeast Asia, the Pope took a trip to Muslim-majority Indonesia where he warned about the excesses of religious extremism.
Far to the West, Indian Americans rallied in a bid to get US Vice-President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris elected to the White House, days ahead of the eagerly anticipated debate between the VP and former US President Donald Trump.
With Trump at the peak of his powers of personally insulting the opposition, the debate promises to be an explosive one, or at least more engaging than the one that saw half of America go to sleep listening to an incoherent Biden.
In West Asia, bickering continued over Gaza ceasefire proposals, with the US, as usual, playing big brother.
With the war in Ukraine having stretched well over two years now, a weary Putin this week signalled that a preliminary agreement had been reached between Moscow and Kyiv, adding that the unlikely trio of China, India, and Brazil could play the role of mediators in the upcoming talks.
That about sums up the political developments from India and the rest of the world. Tune in to this space next week, as we delve into more mudslinging ahead of the fast-approaching polls in four states.
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