Off the record: May 10, 2020

Third time’s the charm?

Rahul Gandhi’s increased media engagement during the lockdown triggered buzz about his impending return as Congress President, a post he quit after the second consecutive loss to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul, however, dismissed any other explanation for his increased media presence, including his conversations with economists Raghuram Rajan and Abhijit Banerjee. While Rahul maintains that he just wanted to give people a glimpse into the “interesting” conversations he has with the thought leaders, Congress leaders have embarked on a campaign to present him as an alternative to Modi, yet again.

Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi

Bidding adieu

Ace diplomat Syed Akbaruddin hung his boots and he did it with a “Namaste” – the traditional greeting of India. He was India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations till April 30 and ended a 35-year-long illustrious career as an Indian Foreign Service officer came to its end. And, with the UN headquarters under lockdown, he bowed out with a video-conference with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “In the Indian tradition, when we leave or when we meet, we don’t stay hello or shake hands, we say ‘Namaste’,” Akbaruddin said, with his hand folded. “So, before I end, I want to say ‘Namaste’ to you”. His stint as the envoy saw New Delhi succeeding in getting Security Council to impose sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s leader Masood Azhar despite roadblocks created by China.

Anirban Bhaumik, New Delhi

Slight confusion

In Assamese, maach means fish. This confused a man in North Assam’s Udalguri district recently, when he visited a government hospital with a fish after a nurse asked him to come with a mask. The man thought he was infected with coronavirus as he was suffering from fever and cough. “As he was not wearing a mask, the nurse asked him to come with a mask for medicines. But the man thought she asked him to come with a fish. He went to the market and came back with a fish. This evoked laughter among the nurses and other staff there,” a health department official in Udalguri said. The nurse then gifted him a mask and provided medicines.

Sumir Karmakar, Guwhati

Hypocrisy on liquor

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s six-month-old sermons on ‘pernicious’ effects of liquor consumption have boomeranged on him. When the previous Kamal Nath government changed excise policy to allow more liquor vends in the state, Shivraj was all fire and brimstone. He released a video statement full of forebodings about imminent doom of the state due to the Congress government’s ‘greed for ramping up excise revenue’ at the expanse of the peoples’ lives. Shivraj Singh’s government is now batting to open liquor shops amid lockdown. The state government even threatened to “find alternative ways’ to sell booze to the tipplers if the liquor contractors don’t abide by the excise department’s order to immediately open their shops. The contractors’ finally yielded. Now it is Kamal Nath’s turn to expose what the former chief minister said ‘sheer hypocrisy “of his predecessor. In a statement, the Congress leader wondered aloud what happened to Shivraj Singh’s pledge to work for keeping the state liquor-free.

Rakesh Dixit, Bhopal

Muted marriage

Underworld don and former MLA Arun Gawli’s daughter, Yogita, got married to Marathi actor, Akshay Waghmare. The marriage was an extremely low-key affair--and was held in Dagdi Chawl, the bastion of Gawli--who has been jailed for life in a murder case. He is currently under parole. Because of the lockdown, the two families kept it a low-key affair. When Yogita’s siblings Geeta and Mahesh got married, grand events were organised. Geeta is a three-time corporator from Agripada in Mumbai’s civic body. The wedding rituals were performed at the of the family deity, Shri Shambhunarayan, located inside Dagdi Chawl. Yogita, is the third of the Gawli siblings.

Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai