On the radar

RAHUL AS CHALLENGER

The Bharat Jodo Yatra has presented Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a new mass leader and the main challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2024 general elections. The yatra aimed to change the image of Rahul by emulating the tradition of past political leaders in India of traversing the rural heartland on foot, including Gandhi, who led a long march in 1930 to resist British rule. Rahul’s personal stature has grown remarkably, and he offers a humane, democratic, and inclusive alternative. Rahul has reinforced his political accountability through the number of media interactions he held during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He did not refrain from any questions, and pulled them out with characteristic humour. He denied that his yatra has anything to do with politics or the party. He thoroughly stuck to its unifying theme from the onset and said that it was meant only to affirm love, fraternity, and unity in times of hatred and disunity. But whether his new image can be sustained will depend on his perseverance and politics.

 ALLEGIANCE TO BJP                                  

After an FIR was registered against Samajwadi Party MLC and former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya for his comments on Ramcharitmanas, his daughter and BJP MP Sanghmitra Maurya came out and strongly supported him, saying there should be a healthy and meaningful discussion on the points raised by her father about the Hindu religious text. While there is speculation that Sanghamitra may switch to Samajwadi before the 2024 general elections and run from Badaun, she has asserted that her professional and personal lives are separate and she will continue to stay in the BJP.

DEMAND FOR PROBE

 Congress and other opposition parties on Thursday demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a Supreme Courtmonitored probe into the Adani Group crisis. Earlier, Congress leaders from the DMK, TMC, SP, JD(U), Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, IUML, NC, AAP, and Kerala Congress met in Parliament and decided to raise the issue in both Houses. Several opposition members, including Kharge, also gave adjournment notices to discuss the Adani issue, but they were rejected by the chair