Farewells, letters and apologies ring in the New Year

Greetings, dear readers!

A very happy new year to all of you! While many of us might have had a slow work week leading into 2025, politics, the beautiful drama that it is, slows for no one.

From rows over memorials and shouting matches over new schemes, to jabs over hidden temples and apologies for violence, DH's Political Theatre takes a look at the plays that gained fame this week:

Much ado over Manmohan's memorial

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh bid goodbye to the country on December 26, 2024. Amidst national mourning over the death of a great reformer, a row sparked over his funeral and memorial.

It began with Congress' demand for a separate funeral spot and memorial for the ex-PM, rather than the usual cremation at Nigambodh Ghat and memorial at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal near Raj Ghat, which UPA themselves had established.

Centre rejected this, which Congress called as a deliberate insult to the country's first Sikh prime minister. Centre quickly clarified that a memorial spot will be allocated soon.

Manmohan Singh’s last rites were then held at the Nigambodh Ghat on December 28 and the nation bid him adieu.

Following this, the row snowballed. Rahul Gandhi threw the first punch, slamming Centre for "insulting" the late PM by holding his last rite at Nigambodh Ghat, a sentiment other Congress leaders shared

When the ex-PM's family immersed his ashes, Congress leaders were nowhere to be found, BJP saw their chance to fightback, but Congress calmly responded that they wanted to give the family privacy.

BJP President J P Nadda then accused the Opposition of indulging in "cheap politics." over a great leader's death. Congress' Venugopal hit back at Nadda saying that it was BJP that had "crossed all boundaries of decency."

In the end, the government began looking at potential memorial spots for the former PM.

As the New Year rolled in, BJP's Amit Malviya refused to let the issue die, claiming that Rahul flew to Vietnam to enjoy the New Year after "exploiting" Manmohan Singh’s death. Congress asked him, "Why does it bother you? Get well in New Year."

A tale of Letters and Voters

The Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 are closer than ever, and so the political heat is rising from all three fronts. However, along with the usual barbs thrown through press conferences and posts on social media, Delhi politicians have begun writing letters to each other.

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal was the first one to do so this week, writing a letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, asking whether the Sangh fountainhead supports the BJP’s “wrongdoings” like "deleting names of the poor and Dalits from the electoral rolls" as well as “purchasing” votes.

This was followed by a New Year's Day greetings letter from Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva to Kejriwal, urging him to give up what he said were "deceitful and dishonest" political practices.

Then, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote one to Delhi CM Atishi, accusing her government of blocking farm schemes. Atishi in response asked the Centre to focus on themselves and hold dialogues with protesting Punjab farmers.

Virendra Sachdeva (L); Arvind Kejriwal.

Beside the letters, the voters were the talk of the town. BJP accused AAP of trying to add fake voters to the voters' list, while AAP accused the saffron party of deleting voters from the list. If both are true, then it is similar to someone filling a plate with fake food while someone else threw away the real food on it.

Among the usual barbs thrown at each other, Atishi said that BJP plans to demolish places of worship in Delhi, to which the party took offence and asked her to retract the statement.

On the other side, BJP accused Kejriwal of using children for his "cheap, dirty" politics, following AAP posting a video of children raising pro-Kejriwal slogans, which the NHRC raised concerns against.

Meanwhile, Congress' Sandeep Dikshit also accused Kejriwal of being a "pathological liar". Adding to this, the Delhi L-G ordered a probe into 'fraud' allegations against AAP by Dikshit.

More promises were also made. Kejriwal pledged a scheme to pay priests and gurudwara granthis Rs 18,000/month honorarium. PM Modi also laid the foundations and inaugurated various projects in Delhi on Friday, doing so while aiming barbs at AAP.

Priyank Kharge and The Contractor's Death

Priyank Kharge

"Have I been named anywhere?," was Karnataka IT/BT & Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge's reaction to being linked by the Opposition to the suicide of contractor Sachin Panchal.

BJP has been vehemently charging that Kharge is responsible, demanding his resignation and questioning whether the Constitution was not applicable to Kharge. Is another Ambedkar row rising?

Meanwhile, in a typical political response, Kharge went the route of 'first take a look at yourself', asking state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra to seek the resignations of his leaders booked in cases first.

The state's ruling party has openly backed Kharge, with them and Kharge stating various reasons why BJP wants him to resign, such has him being 'anti-Manuvadi'.

Priyank has also asserted that he gets no special treatment due to his father's position in the party, stating "I am elected, not selected."

A 'sorry' for his state's affairs

19 months since conflicts began in his state, Manipur's CM N Biren Singh apologised on New Year's eve for the ongoing ethnic conflict in his state which has claimed more than 250 lives since May 2023 and left thousands displaced.

Too late, too early or just the right time to do so? We do not know. Nor do we know whether this has anything to do with him losing the support of his ally NPP in the state earlier in the year.

What we do know is that he hoped to bring peace to the state in 2025, a hope that was immediately dented by fresh attacks by militants in the state.

Congress and CPI have stated that his apology is not enough and demanded his resignation.

Congress went further, asking why it wasn't Modi who apologised, to which Biren Singh countered, again in a typical 'look at yourself first' response, by asking why Narasimha Rao and I K Gujral did not visit Manipur during previous conflicts. He added later that those indulging in politics over his apology seek unrest in Manipur.

What's in a name?

The Veer Savarkar College is coming up in Najafgarh, a project of the Delhi University which the Prime Minister laid the foundation for.

When this announcement was made, as is the case for any political announcements these days, there was a backlash. Congress, specifically its student wing, demanded that the institution be named after late Manmohan Singh.

NSU(I) president Varun Choudhary wrote to the Prime Minister demanding that the new college be named after Manmohan Singh, who's "legacy as a scholar, economist and public servant embodies resilience, merit, and dedication to public welfare."

"Naming institutions after him will inspire generations and honour his transformative vision," Choudhary added.

Words hurt, you know?

Another Sanatana Dharma row arose, this time over Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's statements.

The Kerala CM was attempting to distance Sree Narayana Guru, founder of Sivagiri Mutt in Thiruvananthapuram, from Sanatana Dharma, and through his words drew the ire of both BJP and Congress.

BJP's V Muraleedharan said that the CPI(M) leader was insulting Sanatana Dharma for vote bank, while Congress' V D Satheesan alleged that it was an attempt to make Sanatana Dharma exclusive to the Sangh Parivar.

Perhaps they should all sit together, read the statement and decide who he offended, how and why?

'Are you doing it or am I doing it?'

Mamata Banerjee decided to train more guns at BJP, this time accusing the BSF of conspiring with them to allow 'goons' from Bangladesh to enter West Bengal.

This comes after BJP had been accusing her government of letting in and settling down Bangladeshi infiltrators.

So who is letting in whom and why?

A temple here, a temple there, temple-temple everywhere

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at UP CM Yogi Adityanath, claiming that a temple exists below the BJP leader's residence too.

He joined the trend where a series of claims are being made about temples existing under various mosques, following the Sambhal incident.

Some people on the internet went as far as claiming that a temple named 'Makkeshwara' is under the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Gandhian way of protests return

Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor (c) with others during his indefinite hunger strike demanding the cancellation of the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination (CCE), 2024, conducted by the BPSC, over allegations of question paper leak, in Patna, Friday, January 3, 2025.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor joined in with the protesting BPSC aspirants, who demanded the cancellation of the exam over a paper leak. He has announced that he will fast-unto-death until their demands are met.

He's currently one of two major leaders in the country that is following the protest method that Mahatma Gandhi used against the British, with Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal being the other.

Supreme Court on Thursday reprimanded the Punjab government over Dallewal's health, which has been deteriorating after his fast entered its second month.

Another 'palti'?

"Kya bol rahe hain (What are you saying)" was all JD(U) boss Nitish Kumar said in reply to queries from journalists about RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's fresh offer to take him back into the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

Will he switch again? And if so, will that lead to the NDA's central government falling apart?

Himanta says Dam(n) China

China plans to build the world's largest dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet. And India, especially Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is not happy about it.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the dam will damage the ecosystem of the river. Is the newly formed fragile peace between India and China already in danger?

Putin's Plane Penitence to Azerbaijan

Your plane might have crashed because of us, sorry! was essentially what the Russian President Vladimir Putin said while speaking on the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this past week that claimed the lives of 38 people.

Putin said Russia had opened a criminal investigation into the crash.

Musk says H1-B good, Trump says H1-B good

US President-elect Donald Trump, a U-Turn from his policies in his first term, has backed Elon Musk, who vowed late Friday to go to "war" to defend the H1-B visa program for foreign tech workers.

But a couple of days after he backed it, Elon then labelled it "broken" and in urgent need of "major reform." Whether Trump now moves to reform the system on the advise of his DOGE head remains to be seen.

Yoon still there, still free

The impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's personal security team made sure that he couldn't be arrested on Friday, with officials abandoning their attempt to do so after a standoff.

South Korea has been facing a deep crisis following the martial law attempt by Yoon. He was impeached, then his successor was impeached as well. Amidst this, the Koreans witnessed a Jeju Air plane crash, killing 179 people in the deadliest crash in their history.

And that is all the major political drama this week. DH's Political Theatre returns again next week with more political developments from across the country and around the globe.

Exit Stage Left,

DH Newsletters Team