Inside Track: Story behind Rahul Gandhi unfollowing 50 people on Twitter, writes Coomi Kapoor

Tamil Nadu’s new Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan

Tamil Nadu’s new Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiagarajan, popularly often called PTR, stands out due to his distinctive {qualifications}. He spent 20 years overseas, has an MBA from MIT Sloan College of Administration within the US and has labored for worldwide funding firms and banks. As well as, he belongs to a distinguished political dynasty of the state. However, PTR additionally tends to shoot off his mouth. He ruffled feathers within the institution lately by describing superstar yoga guru Jaggi Vasudev as a “publicity hound” and compounded it by later quoting an audit report suggesting that the guru’s basis had usurped forest land. Chief Minister M Okay Stalin’s father, the late M Karunanidhi, had good ties with Jaggi, despite the fact that the DMK has atheist roots. Whereas DMK sources insist that PTR and Stalin get pleasure from an amicable relationship and PTR has been given a free hand, for some cause, PTR has been relegated to twenty sixth place in official priority within the Cupboard, though conventionally, finance ministers rank No. 2 within the hierarchy. PTR lately received right into a spat with Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho. On the GST Council assembly, he tried to chop Godhino’s speech quick arguing {that a} small state like Goa mustn’t get the identical weightage and time as Tamil Nadu. He additionally referred to Godhino as an “empty vessel”.

Pravasis Omitted

Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s latest go to to the US was the primary by a senior Indian official since Joe Biden took over as President. Throughout his three days in Washington, Jaishankar met a number of essential US officers, from the Defence Secretary to the Secretary of State and the Director of Nationwide Intelligence. However the noteworthy omissions in his itinerary have been two Pravasis who’ve appreciable affect within the new administration: US Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. It’s not recognized whether or not an appointment was sought from the Indian aspect. Harris’s niece had tweeted towards the Indian authorities on the brand new farm legal guidelines and Jayapal in 2019 had sponsored a decision within the US Congress urging the Indian authorities to not use drive in Kashmir in containing protests over the abrogation of Article 370.

BJP’s Bengali Face

Union Minister Smriti Irani is prone to change Kailash Vijayvargiya because the BJP in-charge of West Bengal. Irani proved her mettle as an organiser when she fought towards Rahul Gandhi in his pocket-borough of Amethi within the final Lok Sabha polls and gained. Not only a highly effective orator, Irani additionally speaks fluent Bengali, since her mom is Bengali. After the Bengal outcomes, most BJP leaders who campaigned there stopped mentioning the state of their tweets. Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel was an exception, which puzzled a few of his followers. Patel was triumphant since he was given cost of north Bengal’s 42 seats the place the BJP gained 25, regardless of ballot campaigner Prashant Kishor and Mamata Banerjee’s finest efforts to woo the tribal and Scheduled Caste voters of the area.

A Thumbs Down

Many within the BJP imagine that Kailash Vijayvargiya’s controversial statements and “undignified” behaviour because the celebration in-charge for Bengal didn’t go down properly with the state’s highly effective bhadralok, with affect in a number of constituencies. Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh himself bumped into a number of controversies along with his statements, together with advising Mamata Banerjee to put on “Bermuda shorts’’ after she appeared with a foot in bandage following an harm in Nandigram. Regardless that Banerjee herself isn’t a bhadralok favorite, they perceived her because the lesser of the 2 evils. The BJP additionally failed at what it normally does finest, grassroots organisation. The TMC employees have been much more environment friendly in scrutinising voter lists and including names.

Unfollowing Many

Rahul Gandhi lately unfollowed some 50 individuals on Twitter, together with outstanding journalists reminiscent of Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt and Nidhi Razdan. It’s suspected that the choice was taken not by Gandhi himself however somebody who was lately appointed to deal with the Congress chief’s Twitter account and prides himself on championing the aam janata moderately than the elite. Considerably even Nikhil Alva from Gandhi’s media cell was unfollowed, strengthening suspicion {that a} rival is in cost. Jyotiraditya Scindia, as soon as Gandhi’s shut buddy, can be on the checklist of these dropped. On Rajiv Gandhi’s dying anniversary, Scindia tweeted on his former buddy’s father, describing him because the architect of modern India. He later deleted the tweet and toned down his homage. His omission could also be at Gandhi’s personal initiative.