Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s charming demeanor during Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s tea discussion on the last day of Parliament’s winter session is believed to have impressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. She was not only comfortable and informal with the Prime Minister, but also shared some personal family matters with him while discussing Delhi’s polluted air. According to reports from the meeting, Priyanka Gandhi explained that this was the first winter when her mother, Sonia Gandhi, who suffers from severe asthma, hadn’t left the city to avoid the pollution. She attributed this to an herbal therapy discovered in her constituency, Wayanad, Kerala. Priyanka, who also suffers from asthma, found the herb helpful, and she introduced the same therapy to her mother, which appears to have provided some relief. For the past several years, Sonia Gandhi had been hospitalized during the winter months because her asthma worsened due to the increased pollution in November and December. This happened even when the Congress government led by Sheila Dikshit was in power in Delhi. In recent years, they had chosen to live in other states like Rajasthan or Goa, where the air was less polluted. However, according to Priyanka Gandhi, this year Sonia Gandhi was able to stay in Delhi for the entire winter session of Parliament thanks to the herbs from Wayanad. Apparently, it was Sonia Gandhi’s decision to send Priyanka Gandhi to the Speaker’s tea party in Rahul Gandhi’s absence. This move certainly disarmed BJP leaders, who have privately praised Priyanka Gandhi’s social etiquette and conversational skills. In fact, for the first time this year, the Speaker’s office released a short video of the tea party, albeit without sound, instead of the standard formal photographs.
Congress also lost MNREGA to the TMC.
It’s surprising that while Trinamool Congress MPs protested the replacement of MNREGA with “Ji Ram Ji” (Gram Ji), Congress MPs chose to go home, undermining Sonia Gandhi’s crucial contribution to the passage of this bill during the UPA government. Opposition MPs from the DMK and AAP briefly joined the protest to show solidarity, but Congress MPs stayed away. They held a small, quiet protest of their own and then left. Apparently, the TMC decided to hold an all-night sit-in after the Lok Sabha rejected the opposition’s demand to refer the “Ji Ram Ji” bill to a standing committee. The TMC took the lead and staged a walkout to resume the sit-in, while the Rajya Sabha voted on the bill after midnight. Sadly, neither Priyanka Gandhi nor Sonia Gandhi spoke on the bill, even though MNREGA was a flagship program of the UPA government, run by a National Advisory Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi, of course, was not in the country. He left for his trip to Germany, although there were many indications that the Modi government had decided to abolish MNREGA and replace it with a new bill that was more in line with their ideology than the right to work guarantee envisioned by Sonia Gandhi and her NAC team. It is now being recognized within the Congress that the TMC has taken over MNREGA through its loud and dramatic protests against G. Ramji. To compensate for falling behind the TMC on what is considered Sonia Gandhi’s legacy, the Congress has now called a Working Committee meeting after Christmas to formulate a new strategy. The Congress is in danger of being isolated within the opposition, as other members of the India Bloc are pursuing their own anti-BJP politics.
Congress may appoint Sachin Pilot as acting president.
There is strong buzz within the Congress that Sachin Pilot is going to play a major role in the party. Two possibilities are being speculated. One is that he could be made the acting president of the Congress to assist Mallikarjun Kharge, whose health is deteriorating. Another buzz is that he could be offered the position of General Secretary (Organization), replacing K.C. Venugopal, who may be moving to Kerala to oversee the assembly elections in his home state next year. Priyanka Gandhi appears to be among those pushing for Pilot to take on one of these two positions. This would be a major boost for Pilot, who has been patiently waiting since his failed rebellion in Rajasthan a few years ago, when he nearly brought down the Gehlot government by threatening to quit the Congress.
