Popular face
The Union agriculture minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is clearly popular cutting across political divides. At the wedding reception of his two sons in Delhi, which was attended by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, it was faces from the Opposition benches that drew attention. A picture of top Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge, having a warm chat with Chouhan at the reception went viral on social media. Chouhan is learnt to have personally invited the Congress leaders. Over a year ago, Chouhan was edged out of the chief minister’s post in Madhya Pradesh and forced to move to Delhi by the Modi-Shah duopoly. The reception ceremony showed the affable ‘Mama’, as he is popularly known in his home state, has managed to carve out a distinct place for himself in Delhi. Although he goes out of the way to eulogise Modi, he has struck a rare rapport with Opposition leaders too. Despite being a senior cabinet minister, he is seen going out of the way to reach out to the Opposition. During the ongoing Parliament session, Chouhan was seen sitting in the Opposition benches having a chat with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader, Kanimozhi.
Wrong number
The Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar, has emerged as one of the foremost adversaries of mobile phones. He has often lost his cool on people seemingly distracted by the devices, not sparing even his Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee. Recently, he noticed the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders using mobile phones during Question Hour. He sprang up to object. “These people are checking their mobiles and speaking. Earlier these devices were banned inside the House, but were allowed a few years ago. Their use is still banned. Anybody found using it would be thrown out,” Nitish said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the Budget session of the state Assembly, in Patna, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. PTI
The CM added that he stopped being glued to his phone after learning of its pernicious effects. He added that the use of cell phones will destroy the Earth in the next 10 years. The sudden outburst led to the leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, calling Kumar “anti-technology” and “anti-youth”.
Bloody strategy
Half encounters, also known as ‘Operation Langda’, in which those accused of serious offences are cornered by the police and shot in the leg, apparently in self-defence, have become popular in Bihar. Around half a dozen such incidents have been reported in the past week. A couple of accused were also shot dead. “The police are free to conduct full encounters also, if needed,” senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and four-time member of the legislative assembly, Haribhushan Thakur, said. The Janata Dal (United) MLA, Sanjeev Kumar, also supported the practice, asserting that it was necessary to control crime, which was the priority of the CM, Nitish Kumar.
Divided House
Women members of the Rajya Sabha from the Opposition benches met the Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar, regarding the state of the toilets, inadequate facilities for tea/coffee and water in the lobby leading to the House, lack of enough seating arrangements in the long approach to the chamber, and the skeletal ferry service for members of the Upper House. During the meeting, they suggested that the open space between the respective dining halls for MPs of the two Houses should be covered and turned into a Central Hall-like space for members of the two chambers to mingle. Dhankar, the members said, was quick in getting the secretary-general to address all the housekeeping issues. But rumour has it that the PM does not favour a Central Hall-like space in the new Parliament.
Whip cracked
The new Speaker of the Delhi assembly, Vijender Gupta, wrote to the capital’s chief-secretary raising a grouse that the previous Aam Aadmi Party government had also raised since 2013 — MLAs being ignored by officials. In response, the general administration department has told all departments to promptly respond to elected representatives. The new BJP government here has already drawn flak for mandating that any department’s expense of over a crore has to first be cleared by the finance department. The Congress called this: “Central Government’s move to control the Delhi Government.”
Flight path
Shashi Tharoor, the Congress member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, has been in the news for his pro-Modi comments. The BJP’s Baijayant Jay Panda recently posted a picture seated next to Tharoor on the same flight saying, “My friend & fellow traveler called me mischievous for saying that we seem to be finally travelling in the same direction” Tharoor promptly clarified saying, “Fellow traveller only to Bhubaneswar! I am addressing the Kalinga LitFest... And coming right back”.
