Skip to main content

Hint of grand alliance at book launch

By
Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu at a function for the release of coffee-table book ‘Sangharsh ke Senani’ on JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav (left), in New Delhi on Monday.—Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

A bigger show of strength was seen on the lawns of 7, Tughlak Road, the residence of JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Monday.

Days after the release of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar’s autobiography on the occasion of his 75th birthday saw a galaxy of leaders gathering at Vigyan Bhawan, an even bigger show of strength was seen on the lawns of 7, Tughlak Road, the residence of JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Monday.

Leaders ranging from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad to Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal to Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Rajnath Singh and Mukthar Abbas Naqvi to BJP veterans L.K. Advani and Yashwant Sinha to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien and Samajwadi Party boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, were all there to felicitate Mr Yadav as a book based on his life was released by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Coming close on the heels of the massive victory of the JD(U)-led Grand Alliance in Bihar, the occasion provided fodder for speculation about the possibility of further political collaboration in the string of assembly elections in the coming months. Indeed, the JD(U), though confined to Bihar, has been trying to play a mediatory role in trying to ensure a degree of opposition unity to take the BJP on across the country.
If the cynosure of all eyes were the two chief ministers — Mr. Kumar for his triumph in Bihar and Mr Kejriwal for taking on the government — Ms Gandhi, accompanied by several party MPs, decided to stay back for the lunch that was laid out on the lawns — a decision that was a political statement by itself.
The gathering despite its high VVIP quotient was a friendly, egalitarian one with minimum security, with even JD(U) party workers present in large numbers milling around, all partaking of the same meal — quite unlike the stiff formality of the event at Vigyan Bhawan. The speeches were minimal, with much bonhomie on display.

A subsidiary political statement was made when Mr. Yashwant Sinha — seen as a BJP dissident — greeted Mr Kumar with a warm hug.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modern garden with upcycling plastic bottles

By
Post a Comment
Read more

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

By
For most of the reviews here at Gadgets 360, we use the mobile in question as our primary phone for about a week or so before sharing our verdict with you. We realise this isn't perfect, since there are some aspects of the device that don't become obvious during that time, and in an ideal world, we'd use every phone for a couple of months before we publish our review. But we work under constraints where most devices aren't available to us for that long - almost all products that we review are loaned to us by companies for short durations - and there's also the competitive pressure of wanting to get your review out before others do, as long as it doesn't involve cutting any corners. With the launch of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in India, Apple offered to loan the two new iPhones to Gadgets 360 - and indeed other publications - for more than the typical timeframe of a few days. The India iPhone launch of course came a few we...
1 comment
Read more

Chocolate Chip Cookies

By
I have made these Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies at least 20 times now. Not exaggerating. I first made these when we were in the Philippines, when it was a struggle to just keep butter solid for 2 seconds on the counter, and they were absolutely incredible. I had no idea how or why, but they just WORKED. And they blew my mind in the way only a perfect chocolate chip cookie really can. But then every once in a while, they didn’t work. I’m not always super exact with my baking, but still. They were not thick and chewy and buttery like the perfect cookie should be. Some of your comments said the same things – most of the time they worked, but sometimes they didn’t. And I don’t like that. Now I’m back home in dry, cool Minnesota and I have been waiting for this day just so I could figure out what would really make these cookies awesome for you. You who live in normal climates and shop at Cub Foods. I am now speaking your cookie-baking language. Since I’m re...
Post a Comment
Read more