President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hosted a farewell dinner in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan Banquet Hall for 85 senior media persons, who were very closely acquainted with him.
The brief remarks by Pranab da were very touching indeed. He remarked that many faces were known to him for decades. "You all grew up with me. After demitting my office, my doors will be open to the media" continued Pranab da. After his remarks, Pranab da personally interacted with the journalists, who stood in a circle in the Darbar Hall.
Dadaji called out the names of journalists and spoke a few punchy words about their scoops and exclusives. When Dadaji approached this correspondent, he reminded me of my inventive political stories, which he said very more dangerous risk than the scoops. Of course, the President spoke in detail about politics. But all of those remarks were off the record.
On July 12, President Pranab is hosting a farewell dinner for the country's Governors, while the PM and his Council of Ministers are to dine with Pranab on July 24.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sent a strong political message to the Congress on Monday, which is still reverberating in the capital grapevine circuit.
On Tuesday, the BJP's national headquarters in Ashok Road, New Delhi, witnessed a flurry of activity, especially thanks to BJP MPs from Bihar, who were spotted in the office. Did they discuss the future politics of the state? How will the BJP move its coin? But according to a source close to Amit Shah, "wait and watch" was the outcome of the meeting.
When this correspondent met a few senior JDU leaders on Tuesday, they shared that the 17 years of the JDU-BJP combine was smooth.
But the same accommodation and warmth were not forthcoming from the Congress. JDU leader KC Tyagi, informally sharing his thoughts, said that the JDU does not share the views of Rahul Gandhi. He called the Congress' methods as 'reactive politics' that are too focused on PM Narendra Modi.
KC Tyagi gave an example - simply by being the Opposition, the Congress distanced itself from the GST - blocking the passage in the first year and later obstructing its implementation. And this, Tyagi said, despite the Congress being the 'mother' of the GST in the first place.
The Congress should not have reacted to the GST, Tyagi felt. These are the views of KC Tyagi. But does KC Tyagi reflect Nitish Kumar's mindset?
Political gossip is a prime hobby for the government's bureaucrats. In the sprawling Lutyens area, the Union Government has 85 Ministries, and Departments spread across are North and South Blocks and many Bhavans.
More than 500 IAS and 150 IPS officers serve in this area. These members of the top echelon are connected via a four digit RAX telephone - set up by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). None can intercept it nor tap it. Naturally, officers use the line for gossiping about their state politics and national issues.
On Tuesday, the subject matter was PM Modi's address to the 2015 batch IAS officers. For the first time, the PM opened up his mind and shared some truths to the young IAS officers of the 2015 batch. Do not behave like your seniors; there should be a progressive approach to developmental issues, the PM said.
"You young officers, please encounter your seniors with thought-provoking questions on the GST and developmental issues," Modi told the young batch.
However, New Delhi's babudom seems convinced the PM was warning seniors, and playing the young against the old. They feel this is an outcome of the BJP's suspicion about a lingering Congress allegiance within the older babus.
R Rajagopalan is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of Asianet Newsable.
