‍‍Will Andhra Pradesh People Ever Forgive Congress Party?

In the context of the manifest as well as probable consequences of the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh, the moot question for the Congress is: Will the people of residual Andhra Pradesh ever forgive us?

The grand old party, due its 'misguided' strategy, is yet to come out of the clutches of the 'Frankenstein' monster it had unleashed by way of bifurcation. There is no doubt that the people of Telangana benefited more from bifurcation than those of residual AP, considering that bifurcation per se was carried out by flouting all democratic norms and without even a proper discussion in Parliament.  

Of course, the Congress was aware that it would lose the goodwill of voters in the Andhra region, considering that the very dea of bifurcation was initially rejected by the legislature of the undivided AP by voice vote.

The Congress had forged post-poll alliance with the YSR Congress party headed by YS Jaganmohan Reddy. The Congress thought that there would be no political harm for itself in the 2014 elections due to AP's bifurcation should it fail to get a single seat. It was confident of getting support from the eventual winner with a good number of seats. With this reading, the Congress looked confident of getting maximum Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, ahead of the UPA government granting the new state. This was on top of the possible support coming from Andhra with its arrangement with YSRC should it emerge victorious.  

Now, the Congress is planning to restart its political journey in Andhra Pradesh with it new-found promise of Special Category Status (SCS) that was assured by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Rajya Sabha. Later, it was denounced by the BJP government, though arguments in favour of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh were then made by none other than M. Venkaiah Naidu in the Upper House.

In fact, Venkaiah Naidu had suggested that SCS should be given for 10 years, instead of the five-year period assured by the Prime Minister. The Congress picked up the slogan of SCS that was rejected by the BJP government, though it had previously backed SCS.

The Congress got political life and life support from the people of undivided AP twice. The Congress got 41 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in AP in the 1977 elections, after it faced a humiliating defeat all over the country in the post-Emergency period that turned the destiny of Congress. People of AP had given 30-plus Lok Sabha seats in two  consecutive elections  -- 2004 & 2009 that literally helped the UPA rule the country for 10 years as there was no other state in the rest of the country that had given the party such huge number of seats. The Congress' plight then can be understood from the fact that in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress got only two seats (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi).

Hence, the Congress is trying woo Andhra Pradesh without treading on the tender toes of Telangana people.  Its USP is that it granted T-State knowing fully well the fact that it would badly affect its political prospects in the residuary state of AP. It is OK if it is seen as having had a hidden understanding with the YSRCP of Jaganmohan Reddy on possible post-poll support.

Considering the negative implications of taking up SCS, especially in the context of Telangana Rashtra Samiti's oft-repeated assertion that 'Andhra' leaders had given a short shrift to Telangana region in the combined AP, the Congress has started making it clear that its support for SCS to AP would not be at the cost of the interests of people of Telangana.

Former president of AICC Rahul Gandhi had a series of meetings with Andhra leaders on the possibilities left for reaching out to people of AP. Naturally, it was pointed out that the grand old party had deceived the people of Andhra in the process of bifurcation. Nobody had a clear answer when Rahul Gandhi reportedly asked: "Will the people of Andhra Pradesh ever forgive us?"  

However, all of them underlined that a committed approach towards realisation of SCS would enable the party to win back the confidence of AP people to some extent so that the party can regain lost ground in the not-so-distant future. The leaders also drove home their point that proximity with Chandrababu Naidu of TDP would be detrimental to the interests of the party. According to them, the Congress can bank on 7-8 per cent of the voters in AP.  But for its truck with TDP, its vote bank would have been 10% of voters.

Political strategist and psephologist Prashant Kishor (PK) has been asked to look into the ways in which the party can reach out to people of AP after overcoming the minus points related to bifurcation. PK had worked with YSRCP, which emerged victorious in the 2019 polls winning 151 Assembly seats out of 175, creating history. Despite being asked to work for YSRCP again in 2024 by none other than Jagan at a thanksgiving programme, Prasanth did not agree this time.

Congress had to first choose one person to head the party in the state in place of P. Sailajanath. The name of former Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy surfaced. Despite Kiran's reluctance to helm the Congress over its questionable role in the bifurcation episode, he is being pressurized to accept the responsibility.

Will this high-profile man accept the offer made by the party's high command is a big question? Before Kiran gives an answer, the Congress per se has a long troublesome journey ahead. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Why ‍'Political Bazaar' Getting 'Hot' In Telangana?

Telangana people are quite surprised upon heating up the political activities in the state for a by-election in Huzurabad to dominates the supremacy over one and other political parties poll-strategies and electioneering tactics.

As #KhabarLive analyzed the entire situation, reveal the political supermacy dominates the major political parties. Its still more than two years for Assembly elections in Telangana but the series of yatras, rallies and meetings by the political parties have created a poll-like atmosphere in the state.

A series of developments and hectic activity by all major political players has increased the political temperature in the state, where elections are due towards the end of 2023.

Opposition parties are vying with each other in targeting Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for its failures even as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao himself is leading the counter-attack from the ruling party by rolling out a slew of schemes.

With the by-election to the Huzurabad Assembly seat likely to be held soon, both the ruling and opposition parties are going all out to woo the voters. By announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' and an insurance scheme for weavers and by luring some top leaders of the Congress, BJP and TDP into its camp, the TRS is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a victory in Huzurabad.

The by-election has become a battle of prestige for the TRS as Eatala Rajender, who was dropped from the State Cabinet in May following allegations of land grabbing, will be contesting as the BJP candidate.

As Rajender had been winning the seat since 2009, the BJP is hoping to ride on his popularity in the constituency to deal a blow to the TRS ahead of the next Assembly polls. The leaders of the saffron party hope that a win in Huzurabad will boost its confidence to achieve the goal of coming to power in the country's youngest state.

The recent elevation of G. Kishan Reddy as an independent minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet has boosted the morale of the saffron party, which had set alarm bells ringing in the TRS camp by wresting the Dubbak Assembly seat and by putting up an impressive performance in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) last year.

While returning to his home state after his elevation, union minister for tourism and culture Kishan Reddy mounted a scathing attack on TRS by undertaking a Jana Ashirwada Yatra from August 19. He slammed KCR and his family, for what he called massive corruption and for pushing the state into a debt trap.

Kishan Reddy's three-day yatra covered 305 kilometres across eight Parliament segments and 17 Assembly constituencies including Huzurabad.

The BJP is looking to mount further pressure on the ruling party as its state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar will be launching a 'Praja Sangrama Yatra' from August 24.

The party says the walkathon, to begin from Bhagyalakshmi Temple at Charminar, is aimed at making citizens aware of the 'corrupt and dictatorial' family rule of KCR.

Sanjay, who is also the MP from Karimnagar, said the main objective of his walkathon is to enthuse the people to protest against the TRS government as it has failed to justify the reasons for which the separate state was formed.

"We need to free Telangana Talli (mother Telangana) from this corrupt family regime which is not at all concerned with people's issues. We have to take the failures of the government to the people at every booth level and understand the people's concerns which would help during our manifesto preparation," he said.

During the yatra, the BJP leader also plans to receive representations from people about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS government and also the complaints about not receiving the benefits under various welfare schemes. The saffron party will forward these representations to the government.

The BJP's central leadership will be keenly following the walkathon, which is expected to set the tone for the Huzurabad bypoll and the next Assembly elections.

The success of Sanjay's yatra will be crucial for the party to bounce back after receiving a jolt in the recent by-election in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency and the Legislative Council polls from the graduates' constituencies. The saffron party lost the lone Legislative Council seat it was holding and had a disastrous performance in Nagarjuna Sagar, where its candidate forfeited the deposit.

A rejuvenated Congress party has also stepped up its activities. With A. Revanth Reddy taking over as the president of the party's state unit last month, it has become aggressive in taking up various issues and targeting the TRS government over what it called its unfulfilled promises and failures.

During the last few days, Revanth Reddy led two major public meetings as part of its Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora (Movement for SC/ST self-respect). Through this statewide campaign, the party is trying to woo Dalits and tribals by highlighting how the TRS government neglected them during the last seven years.

The Congress is upbeat over the huge public response it received at its meetings at Indravelli in Adilabad district and at Raviryala on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is now planning to organise a third public meeting in Gajwel, the constituency represented by KCR.

The Congress, like the BJP, is also targeting KCR for announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' only to garner the votes of Dalits in the Huzurabad bypoll. "After the by-election, KCR will again forget Dalits. Why is he not implementing Dalit Bandhu across the state, why only in Huzurabad," asked Revanth Reddy.

The TPCC chief also recalled that KCR did not fulfil his promises of installing a 125-feet Ambedkar statue in Hyderabad, three acres of land to each landless Dalit family, KG to PG free education and a job to every household.
Buoyed by the huge public response to its meetings, the state Congress leadership has decided to invite party leader Rahul Gandhi to a series of public meetings in the run up to the 2023 Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi is likely to address a public meeting in Warangal next month as part of Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora. The party is planning the meet as a massive show of strength before the Huzurabad bypoll.

The Congress party has started the groundwork for the next Assembly polls. Manickam Tagore, AICC in-charge of Telangana, held a review meeting with party leaders in Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency on August 20 and directed all party leaders and those who unsuccessfully contested the 2018 and 2019 polls to start working in their respective constituencies by meeting the people.

"Talk to voters, spend time with them, list their problems and find out what they have to say about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS and BJP governments in the state and at the Centre respectively," he said.
Claiming that the political situation in the state is turning in favour of the Congress, Revanth Reddy said the party is certain to win at least 72 of the 119 constituencies in the elections to the Assembly whenever they are held.

The newly formed YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) led by Y S Sharmila has also launched its activities, adding to the political buzz in the state. The sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is undertaking a fast every week over the issue of unemployment. After calling on the families of unemployed people who committed suicide, she sits on a day-long fast every Tuesday. She is demanding that the government fulfil its promise of filling all vacancies in various departments and providing jobs to all.

Three days ago she also staged a protest in Mulugu district over the issue of podu lands or the lands tilled by tribals. She accused KCR of cheating tribals by not fulfilling his earlier promise to resolve the podu lands issue. She assured her party's support to tribals, demanding that the government give them ownership right of podu lands.

Amid the stepped up activity by the opposition parties, Chief Minister KCR visited Huzurabad constituency on August 16, launched his ambitious scheme 'Dalit Bandhu' and addressed a huge public meeting. The scheme was launched on a pilot basis in Huzurabad and he promised that all Dalit families in the state will receive benefits under the scheme. Every Dalit family will get a Rs 10 lakh grant under the scheme to start a business of its choice, he said. Hitting back at his political rivals, KCR asked why their governments in the states or at the Centre never thought of designing a scheme to empower Dalits.

The politics over Dalits in the state took an interesting turn this month when former IPS officer R. S. Praveen Kumar joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Kumar, who held the rank of Additional Director General of Police, took voluntary retirement last month. The officer urged Dalits to become rulers and not slaves. He joined the BSP at a massive public meeting at Nalgonda on August 8. On Dalit Bandhu, he said that the scheme was a constitutional right and not anybody's charity.

He told KCR that the money he was spending on the scheme was what weaker sections had earned by tilling the land. "If you have any love for Dalits, spend your money on them," he said. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Why Telangana Politics Revolves Around Dalits?

The Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has announced a Dalit Bandhu scheme that promises Rs 10 lakh in cash to each SC family. 

There’s a sudden shift in Telangana’s politics, ahead of a crucial bypoll, with the focus now on the “empowerment” of the Dalit community in the state.  
 
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, or KCR as he is known, set the tone in late June when he announced a ‘Dalit Bandhu (empowerment)’ scheme, in which he promised Rs 10 lakh through direct bank transfer to every Scheduled Caste family in the state. The money, according to the scheme, was to help with entrepreneurship within the community. 

The scheme was to be launched on 16 August at Huzurabad, which is up for a bypoll, but after the chief minister faced flak from the opposition, it was unveiled at Vasalamarri village in Yadadri district on 4 August.  

The state government Monday, however, issued orders to implement the scheme in Huzurabad and released Rs 500 crore for it. This, even as the notification for the bypoll is still awaited.

The Congress, which has slammed the chief minister’s scheme as an election stunt, Monday launched a month-long Dalit-Adivasi Dandora (drive). Rahul Gandhi is expected to take part in the event sometime in September. 

Congress leader Dasoju Sravan told #KhabarLive that the drive is meant to “empower” Dalits and Adivasis and make them aware of their land rights, which he alleged was being ignored by the government. 

“Today the chief minister suddenly wants to become the messiah of Dalits. Why were earlier promises not kept? Why did he not use the funds allocated under SC/ST sub-plan for the community and instead diverted them for his magnum projects like Kaleshwaram (irrigation project)?” Sravan alleged.

“Also, no more than one lakh of the nine lakh applications received by the SC Finance Corporation in the last seven years have been cleared. Does he have a timeframe on when ideally would he be able to give Dalit Bandhu to all families in the state?”

In keeping with the trend, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has no presence in the state, received a fillip Sunday, when former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar, who played an instrumental role in revamping Telangana’s social welfare residential educational institutions during his tenure, joined the party. The BSP event at Nalgonda, to mark Kumar’s induction, reportedly saw the participation of around 2 lakh people.

‘BJP pressure pushing CM’

While the BJP has not really announced any major plans for Dalits in the state, its Huzurabad candidate is Eatala Rajender, the ousted minister of the KCR cabinet and a one-time close aide of the chief minister. 

Rajender, the former Huzurabad MLA, hails from a Backward Caste (BC) and has been reportedly touching the feet of those from the Dalit community as part of his campaign.  

Experts told #KhabarLive that Rajender is one of the prime reasons for KCR’s Dalit outreach. They added that certain sections of the BC vote may rally behind the former minister, seen as a strong leader in the community.
Apart from Rajender, the BJP has other prominent BC leaders in Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind and its state unit president Bandi Sanjay, one of KCR’s most vocal critics.

“All the parties, including the chief minister, are preparing for the 2023 elections. The BC and SC/ST population together easily make up 50 per cent of the state’s population,” Prof. Gali Vinod Kumar of Osmania University told #KhabarLive.

“The BJP has been trying to woo the BC community for a long time now and traditionally Dalits are a Congress vote-bank,” he added. “With Revanth Reddy’s rise as new PCC chief, they (Dalits) may look to the party for hope. So for the CM, the Dalit vote-bank is crucial, and he is trying to woo them.” 

According to senior political analyst Telakapalli Ravi, KCR’s Dalit scheme is a “masterstroke”, to which the other parties have to respond. He, however, added that the move is also because of KCR’s fear that the BCs may rally behind Rajender.

“There are a lot of unkept promises from the chief minister’s side, coupled with his fear of a split in the BC vote. So, this is a move to safeguard the Dalit vote-bank,” Ravi said. “Not just Huzurabad, this is a step for the next elections in the state. After all, Dalits are easily 17 per cent of the population.” 
Ravi also pointed out that KCR has a history of rolling out schemes before elections. 

“Before every election, KCR doles out schemes for different communities. There are schemes for BCs and the shepherd community among others. So, this is like one of his pre-poll promises,” Ravi added. “But this time, he has doled out such a large scheme that nobody thought of. The maximum that the opposition can question now is the timing of the scheme, not the scheme as such. That would work against them. At the end of the day it is a welfare scheme, isn’t it?” 

KCR’s Dalit outreach

KCR’s Dalit Bandhu scheme promises to bring ‘qualitative change’ in the community and will be extended to 100 families in each of the state’s 119 constituencies in the first phase. 

The government has estimated that at least 13 lakh SC families would be eligible for the Dalit Bandhu scheme. Dalits make up 17 per cent of the state’s total voting population.

The state government has reportedly started a survey to identify beneficiaries. Government teams have been asked to collect sub-caste details, educational and employment details of families.  

The KCR government has set aside a budget of Rs 1,200 crore. In fact, the chief minister has also said that he is ready to spend Rs 1 lakh crore to implement the scheme. The figure is roughly 50 per cent of the state’s annual budget. 

The chief minister, who faces criticism of being an autocrat, and even being inaccessible to his own ministers, had in June called for an all-party meeting for the first time since he took over in the state, following which the decision was taken. 

But this isn’t the first time that KCR has looked to woo the state’s Dalits. In the run-up to the 2014 assembly elections, he had promised to appoint a member of the Dalit community as the chief minister if his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was voted to power.

The chief minister, at the time of the Telangana agitation, also promised three acres of land to each Dalit family. He launched the land distribution programme amid much fanfare in 2014 but according to data of 2019, the last available, a mere 6,000 of the 3.3 lakh beneficiaries have benefitted.  

While his latest Dalit Bandhu scheme has also drawn flak from the opposition, KCR has responded to the criticism, saying his party is not a monastery and neither were his party-men living as monks in the Himalayas. #KhabarLive #hydnews

Analysis: Why The Farmers' Protests Could Be The Beginning Of A Turning Point For The BJP?

The ongoing farmers' protests in several states across India's geographical diversity is the first major non-sectarian mass movement confronting the Narendra Modi government. Unless handled adroitly, the stir has the potential to throw up a major challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi's political dominance.

Modi’s India: Justified Hopes, Unjustified Fears

By LIKHAVEER| INNLIVE

A look at Modi’s India through a lens that could do with some balance.

Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister of Singapore in the mid-1990s was the author of a ‘mild India fever’ that gripped the island-country and led to the first substantial economic engagement between the two countries, even though Lee Kuan Yew was initially sceptical about Goh’s initiative.

Actor & Politician Raj Babbar Appointed As A New Congress Chief In Uttar Pradesh: A Close Look At His Political Career

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

Fortune favours the brave, goes the adage. And how befitting it is to veteran actor Raj Babbar, who was appointed as the Congress chief of Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the state's Assembly polls in 2017. Not too long ago, Babbar was a star campaigner in the Assam Assembly election this year, which saw the end of the 15-year-old rule of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, making way for the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in North East India.

Modiji, How Do You Solve The Problem Like Subramanian Swamy?

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

The impending exit of Raghuram Rajan from the Reserve Bank this September seems to have emboldened Subramanian Swamy, the BJP's maverick Rajya Sabha MP, to take on more real or imagined "enemies". 

The latest to be targeted is Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian, with Swamy recalling an old statement of Subramanian to the US Congress seeking the penalisation of India for its pharma patents stand. Swamy also alleged, in another tweet, that the CEA was behind the Congress' hardening of stand on the goods and services tax (GST).

Straight Talk: Being A Gandhi In The Time Of Modi

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

India has changed but it is a change that Sonia Gandhi is ill-equipped to cope with and Rahul Gandhi is incapable of comprehending.

A whiff of victimhood adds to the aura of the singular leader. Convinced of history’s indebtedness to his destiny, such a leader lives in perpetual self-awareness, an extreme form of which is nothing but paranoia. When power is an inherited privilege, and where total submission is a prerequisite for loyalty, the fear of falling is a constant state of mind. 

AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Is Against The Dynasty Rule, Why He Is Grooming His Son Lokesh?

By RADHAKRISHNA | INNLIVE

Stanford-educated Nara Lokesh, who is already deeply involved in party and government affairs, is expected to lead the Telugu Desam Party in 2019.

In 1985, the Telugu Desam Party was in the midst of an angry internal churn. N Chandrababu Naidu, the party’s general secretary, fought tooth and nail against his father-in-law and party founder NT Rama Rao’s proposal to name his son, Nandamuri Balakrishna, an actor, as his political heir.

Indian National Congress: Death Of The 'Dynastic Rule'?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The Congress is prone to describing the ongoing rebellion in its ranks, as also the departure of leaders from its fold, as glowing examples of opportunism bedevilling Indian politics. What the Congress fails to comprehend is that opportunism is inevitable in a system which privileges dynasty over ideology.

The Congress does indeed have an ideology, nebulous though it may be seem to observers. The problem, however, arises from the fact that the Gandhis personify the party ideology. It is consequently subordinated to the family in the hierarchy of importance, exposing the Congress to the perils inherent to any dynastic rule.

For one, the dissidents in the Congress frame their rebellion against the wrong choices of the dynasty. 

#SaveCongress: Priyanka Gandhi Can Only Save Congress With Her Charisma

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

It would seem that all that is needed for the sinking Titanic to stay afloat and even turn around and charge forward, all hooters blazing, is for a woman to wear elegant cotton sarees just like the way her grandmother did.

Sounds confusing? It isn't. The Congress may be undergoing the worst crisis in its 129-year-old history, the Indians may have shown it the door almost everywhere, it may have sunk to a historic low of just 45 MPs in Lok Sabha, all that it needs to do to become an unstoppable force once again is to persuade Priyanka Gandhi to join politics.

'Aaj Aane Ki Zid Na Karo': India Deserves Better Than Rahul Gandhi

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

There's a growing realisation within the Congress that whatever Rahul Gandhi's showing as the party's de facto leader, it appears that the Congress has no choice but to embrace his leadership. But here's the thing...

Rahul Gandhi's umpteenth threat of finally becoming president of the Congress reminds me of a famous ghazal by Fayyaz Hashmi popularised by Farida Khanum: Aaj aane ki zid na karo (Don't insist on coming today).

Dynastic Politics: In Politics, It's All About Loving Your Family, But Voters Won’t Have It Anymore

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

As the results to the Assembly polls show, dynastic politics have cost political parties dear, especially the Congress.

Hindu mythology is littered with references to the obsessive love that parents have for their children. Bollywood has drunk deep from that wellspring, the “mere paas ma hai” school of thought reigning supreme over many decades.

Obituary For Indian National Congress (1885-2016): 'Death Was Slow In Coming'

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

After an extended period of illness, injuries inflicted by Rahul Gandhi, son of the current owner, proved to be fatal.

On the afternoon of May 19, 2016, the Indian National Congress, sole surviving issue of Allan Octavian Hume and Dadabhai Naoroji, passed away peacefully, in its sleep, at the age of 131.

Death was slow in coming. After an extended period of illness, injuries inflicted by Rahul Gandhi, son of the current owner, proved to be fatal.

Terror Tactics: Why 'Saffron Terror' Is Not A Myth?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

By shielding Hindu terror suspects, the Modi government is making a big mistake. It should learn from Pakistan’s blunders.

The National Investigation Agency recently decided to drop all terror related charges against the 2008 Malegaon blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. The decision of the NIA to overlook earlier findings of investigative agencies against Singh has been along predicted lines under the Narendra Modi regime.

How The Congress Imploded On National Arena?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Will Congress wither away in India? Two years back, this question looked quite improbable. It was really audacious on the part of the BJP to raise a slogan like 'Congress-free India' during the Lok Sabha elections.

Today, Congress has lost two more states- Assam and Kerala. At present, Congress is in power in six states only. It looks like we are already moving towards a "post-Congress era".

Rohith Vemula And The Deadly Side Of 'Campus Politics'

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

OPEN EDITORIAL External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj recently tried to brush off the outrage around the suicide of student Rohith Vemula by remarking that he "was not a Dalit". This insensitive comment was a deliberate attempt not only to obfuscate the issue but also to besmirch the reputation of the bright scholar, whose promising life came to an end due to the culpability, partially at least, of both the HRD Ministry and the University of Hyderabad. The issue at hand is not whether Rohith was a Dalit or not, but the independence of our academic institutions, which unfortunately are remotely controlled by the government of the day.

Commentary: Is Congress Adopting ‘Soft Hindutva’ To Woo Back Majority Community From BJP?

By KAJOL SINGH | INNLIVE

Rahul Gandhi’s frequent temple visits, and his colleagues’ statements, are fuelling the perception that the Congress is taking a leaf out of the BJP's playbook.

Shortly after he returned from his mysterious sabbatical five months ago, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi proceeded on a trek to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand. Since then he has been periodically spotted doing darshan at Hindu temples.

Political Vendetta: From Silent To Roaring Dialogues: RaGa, Sonia Discovers The Joy Of 'Raw Politics'

By KAJOL SINGH | INNLIVE

In 2014, the Nehru-Gandhi cheque decisively bounced with the electorate. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had led the party to its most humiliating electoral debacle. With 44 seats, it could not even claim to be Leader of the Opposition. In that media appearance after the rout, the grim Sonia and the strangely smirking Rahul appeared to be at their political nadir.

Contrast this with the mother and son in Parliament on Wednesday. A barb from a BJP MP saw an irate Sonia Gandhi storming with other Congress MPs into the well of the house to protest, while Rahul Gandhi displayed a new-found dramatic flair that would have been inconceivable a year ago.

Weekend Tadka: How Modi Fell Into RaGa's Political Trap?

"This is a suit-boot-ki-sarkar", said one Rahul, the Congress Dynast. "This is not the Modi government", said another Rahul, a patriarch of the Bajaj Auto group. The two statements are pregnant with meaning. The Dynast's meaning was to suggest that Narendra Modi's government favours crony businessmen. Rahul Bajaj’s quip was intended to suggest that Modi was not proving to be the friend of business that he was thought to be.

All the current problems faced by Modi – the parliamentary gridlock, failure to pass key legislation, the lack of new energy in the economy, and growing business disillusionment with him - can best be explained by the wide gulf between the statements of the two Rahuls.