JOIN USA ‘whiplash’ on the wrist
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel received a ‘whiplash’ on his wrist from a person in Kumhari town in the state on Sunday. The whiplashes were part of a ritual observed after the Gaura-Gauri worship a day after Diwali. Locals believe that by receiving whiplashes, the key person in the family can help ward off evil. Baghel posted a video of him receiving whiplashes in Janjgiri village, where he prayed for the welfare of the state and warding off the evil of Covid-19. A village senior Bharosa Thakur used to whiplash Baghel on the wrist every year. After Thakur’s death, his son Birendra followed the family tradition this year.
Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi
Missing in action
After the disastrous electoral performance in the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress social media team became busy in countering reports of Rahul Gandhi’s Diwali holiday plans at an exclusive resort in the desert near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Reports from Jaipur carried the itinerary of Rahul and his friends – right from arrival on a private jet to spending the evening in a tent pitched in the desert. Congress social media warriors dismissed the reports as ‘fake news’, while Rahul made an unannounced visit to Kannur in Kerala to express condolences to AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on his bereavement.
Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi
Moving out
The iconic statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament House premises will find a new temporary home as the construction of a new building is set to begin next month. Three more statues within the Parliament premises too would be shifted to new locations. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has asked construction agencies to take proper care while shifting the statues and ensure that they are not damaged. Also, special instructions have been given to ensure that no damage is caused to the existing Parliament building, which is a heritage structure inaugurated in 1927. The construction of the building had begun 99 years back in 1921.
Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi
Warding off death
The statement of National Conference president and former CM Farooq Abdullah said that he would not die until the constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were restored, drawing the attention of netizens in the Valley. In a lighter vein, they asked the octogenarian Abdullah whether “Malkulmout” (angel of death) has offered “external support” to Gupkar Alliance! The flamboyant Abdullah, who underwent a kidney transplant more than half a decade back, was questioned last month by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case. On that day his son Omar tweeted, “This on a day when my father turns 84.” So the netizens must have taken a cue from junior Abdullah’s tweet while reacting to the senior one’s assertions.
Zulfikar Majid, Srinagar
Bizarre theft
In a bizarre incident, an antique showpiece silver pistol was stolen from the Jalmandir Palace, the palace of Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, the 13th descendent of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. However, the alert Satara police arrested the accused within hours. Udayanraje Bhosale is a BJP Rajya Sabha MP. The non-firing pistol was by a labourer, who is now cooling heels.
Mrityunjay Bose, Mumbai