🎭 Political Theatre | Rahul hints at 'H-bomb' on 'vote theft'; PM's outreach to China termed 'kowtowing'

Hello readers! We are back with a new edition of DH Political Theatre. 

The political landscape across India was, as usual, charged this week. The war of words between the BJP and I.N.D.I.A. parties ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections intensified. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed a “hydrogen bomb” of a revelation soon on “vote theft”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck back at alliance partners RJD and Congress over the alleged remarks on his late mother, terming them an insult to all mothers in India.

Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit to reset relations between the two countries was termed a “cowardly kowtowing” by the Congress. The party accused the government of weakening India’s stand against Beijing’s aggression.

​Meanwhile, caste politics dominated Maharashtra​. ​Activist Manoj Jarange​-Patil ended his ​five-day fast after the government agreed to extend quota benefits to Marathas​. This came after the Bombay High Court set a deadline for Jarange​-Patil and his supporters to vacate ​Azad Maidan​, the protest venue in Mumbai, as they had "violated the law". 

In Karnataka, the State Cabinet accepted the judicial commission report giving a clean chit to Siddaramaiah in the MUDA land allotment row.

Let's dive in deeper and also see what else happened in India this week.
Rahul's 'hydrogen bomb' claim

At a rally to mark the culmination of his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said a “hydrogen bomb” will soon unravel the truth of ‘vote chori’ following which Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not be able to show his face to the country.

Responding to this, the BJP called the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha “irresponsible”. Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also questioned Gandhi's claims on Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and sought to know why he had not handed over his complaint to the Election Commission on an affidavit. Prasad also raised the issue of the abuse against Modi during the yatra and went on to claim that the Prime Minister has been abused 107 times.

Issue of 'abuses' refuses to die down

 

The issue of alleged abuses hurled at the Prime Minister's late mother during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in the poll-bound Bihar continued to make headlines this week, too. In his first response on the issue, Prime Minister Modi said his mother had nothing to do with politics and it is “unimaginable” that his mother, who is no more, would be insulted in this manner, and in doing so, the Opposition had insulted all the mothers in the country.

“In Bihar, slangs were used for my mother from an RJD-Congress stage. These slangs have not just insulted my mother, but every mother and sister in India. I know you are pained as much as I am,” the Prime Minister said while addressing lakhs of women over a video-conference to mark the inauguration of a slew of initiatives for women.

India-China bonhomie at SCO meet

Modi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China, in a development aimed at resetting strained ties.

This was the first meeting of the two leaders in about 10 months, and it assumed significance in view of a sudden downturn in India-US ties triggered by Washington's policies on trade and tariffs. The two leaders recognised the role of the Indian and Chinese economies in stabilising global commerce.

The meeting, which happened at a time when the two nations continue to have large numbers of soldiers deployed on both sides of the disputed boundary in the Himalayas, however, was slammed by the Opposition Congress back home. The party accused the government of "cowardly kowtowing" and capitulation to the "so-called dragon". Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, termed as "anti-national" Modi's silence on Pakistan-China "jugalbandi" during Operation Sindoor.

Quota stir draws HC wrath

 

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the Maratha quota agitation, which disrupted life in the city to an extent and also drew the wrath of the Bombay High Court for "violating the law", ended after five days.

Manoj Jarange-Patil, who was leading the protest, broke his five-day fast after the government agreed to most of his demands. This came as the High Court set a deadline for Jarange-Patil and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan, the protest venue, as they had "violated the law" and hence had "no right to occupy the premises without any permission".

Clean chit for Siddaramaiah and Kavitha's exit

 

Moving on to Karnataka, the State Cabinet accepted Justice PN Desai Commission’s report exonerating Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife BM Parvathi in connection with the alleged irregularities in site allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The scam had become Siddaramaiah’s worst political nightmare as his wife was accused of illegally receiving 14 plots in a posh Mysuru locality in exchange for 3.16 acres of her land in the Kesare village, which she claimed was usurped by MUDA.

Justice Desai specifically addressed this allegation in his report, submitted to the government on July 31. It turns out that there is no definite rule or regulation governing compensation to persons whose lands are used by MUDA without due acquisition.

Citing this 'legal loophole', the commission gave the Chief Minister a clean chit.

The neighbouring Telangana saw some dramatic political developments over the week. K. Kavitha resigned from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and from her position as an MLC. This followed her suspension from the party for "anti-party activities".

The suspension order came a day after Kavitha — daughter of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao — who recently returned from a 10-day tour of the US, launched a scathing attack on her cousins, former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and former Rajya Sabha member Joginapally Santosh Rao. Kavitha termed her cousins "anacondas of corruption", alleging they amassed wealth through the Kaleshwaram project while making her father a scapegoat.

‘Vote chori' resonates in West Bengal Assembly

 

Meanwhile, in West Bengal, the Legislative Assembly witnessed a fierce war of words between members of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition BJP. Responding to the BJP sloganeering, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah "thieves".

As soon as Mamata rose to speak on the concluding day of the special session of the Assembly, BJP members started repeatedly interrupting her and raised slogans, calling the TMC government and its leaders "thieves".

They were protesting against the suspension of State BJP heavyweight and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari from the Assembly for the entire session.

“Modi is the biggest thief. Modi thief, Amit Shah thief, BJP thief," said Mamata, responding to the BJP sloganeering. “The BJP is a ‘vote chor’ (vote stealer). It has stolen the people's mandate," she said.

With the State set to go for elections next year, more such dramatic scenes are likely in West Bengal.

These were all the political updates of the week. Stay tuned to DH for all the latest news, and we will be back with Political Theatre next week.

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DH Newsletters Team