From the India Gate: Millet Power in Parliament, bureau'crazy' and more

MILLET POWER

India's millet promotion drive continues relentlessly. Soon after proclaiming millet as a new source of nutrition and asking the world to follow suit, the menu inside the parliament now has a new addition. 

You guessed right. It's a khichdi of different kinds of millet. A photo of 'Millet Menu' in Parliament's food court has come to the fore. Khichdi made of millet grains, and Bajra khichdi have been included in it.

It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who mooted this new source of nutrition in 2018.  India declared 2018 as the year of millet. The aim was to encourage global production, and the PM's idea was adopted by 70 countries. Imbibing Modi’s initiative, the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Millet Year.

The United States has also decided to run an awareness campaign for millet grain production. India is playing a pivotal role in MIIRA (Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness) by unfolding plans to promote the production of coarse grains as a simple but effective way to fight malnutrition. India is the largest producer of millet in the world.

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BOSE IS RIGHT 

The boss is always right. The BJP central leadership seems to have delivered this message loud and clear to its Bengal unit. By retaining Governor C V Ananda Bose amid a major reshuffle which saw gubernatorial changes in 13 Raj Bhavans, the central leadership has endorsed his strategy.

Bose, unlike his predecessor, has moulded a good relationship with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, that too withstanding severe pressure from Bengal BJP honchos to crack the whip. But scant regard was given to their recall-Bose pleas. Bose had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi after state BJP leaders openly revolted against him.

Prime Minister Modi seems to have offered full support to his strategy to work alongside Mamata rather than engaging in daily conflicts. Though PMO had given only a 15-minute slot, Bose’s meeting with the PM went on for an hour.

Sukanta Majumdar, state head of BJP, was the first to decipher the message that PM Modi gave by extending the meeting with Bose by 45 minutes. Ananda Bose also explained his stand to Majumdar. But Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari continues his anti-Bose approach. 

As a first step to keep Adhikari in good humour, Bose has decided to let go of his secretary Nandini Chakraborty, a confidante to Mamata who was posted at the Raj Bhavan for cementing relations. But BJP was against her and wanted her removed. By obliging this, Bose seems to have bought some time, albeit the fact that he is under watch.

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CONGRESSOTHAROOROPHOBIA 

This is self-explanatory in spite of sparking Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia in minds.

Congress' kitchen cabinet is once again strategizing to keep Shashi Tharoor, MP, out of the Working Committee. The panel is likely to be reconstituted in the forthcoming plenary session.

The Tharoor brigade is already in action to garner enough support for his CWC entry. Anil Antony, son of veteran A K Antony, who recently did some plain-speak against Congress’ stand on a BBC documentary, is in full support of Tharoor. Incidentally, one of the vacancies in CWC is to replace his father Antony’s position after the senior said he was retiring from the panel.

Others supporting Tharoor include Karti Chidambaram, Salman Soz and M K Raghavan.

Though the G23 has withered, some fresh developments indicating regrouping were visible at a banquet hosted by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda in Delhi.

Disgruntled leaders, including Anand Sharma and Ashwani Kumar, were present. The menu featured exclusive north Indian cuisine to tickle political palates busy discussing recipes to make the future of Congress tastier. Bon Appetit. 

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SOP OPERA 

It's raining freebies in Karnataka. Cookers, televisions, textiles, liquor, food, et al., are dropping from the sky at every doorstep.

And no great meteorological secrets exist behind this phenomenon, but it is a seasonal harbinger that welcomes poll season. But the goodies do not end with white goods. In some areas, people are offered free pilgrimages to nearby centres. This exercise is also filling the coffers of state-owned transport corporations.

While voters feel blessed after their darshan at local pilgrimage centres, local leaders who influence these voters are taken on yet another type of 'pilgrimage'. Hundreds of such local political leaders have just returned after the Bangkok darshan. And there are many in the queue for the next flight.

But there is an intriguing question doing the rounds of late. The devotee voters are made to swear in the name of the deity that they will cast their votes for the party which sponsored their trip. But on whom will the Bangkok bhakts swear by?

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KHAKI KNOCKS 

But some not-so-welcome knocks are rocking the political circles in Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Duare Police initiative is being viewed with suspicion. Opposition parties flay this as a move to threaten voters ahead of the panchayat elections.

They cite a recent viral video from a village in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, where cops are seen collecting public opinion about the panchayat. Residents are asked to list their grievances that couldn’t be redressed at the panchayat office.

Terming it police hooliganism, BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said this was part of a plan to put the voter under pressure. CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty is more critical of this initiative, maintaining that this was a ploy to help TMC.

TMC's media cell in charge, Debangshu Mukherjee, justifies the initiative as a unique step to gauge people’s concerns. 'Duare police prove that our government has nothing to hide. We are transparent in understanding the complaints and problems of the people.'

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BUREAU-CRAZY 

Call it a game of bureaucratic kabaddi where a player desperately tries to oust an opponent even as s/he is running out of breath. A similar power struggle is on in the higher echelons of Tamil Nadu bureaucracy where both the DGP and Chief Secretary are at the fag end of their career.

Though they had succeeded in preventing non-TN officers from occupying these positions during the last reshuffle, the state government has decided to retire them from their respective posts.

With a few senior-most officers returning from central deputation, the pitch is now clear for a smooth transition as far as the police top brass is concerned.

But there is a race between two officers of north-Indian origin for the Chief Secretary’s post. Both have kept the cards close to their chest. But it seems that the officer, the namesake of a famous Kollywood actor, is the front runner. Must admit there is more suspense in this real drama than in the reel avatars.

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