Madhya Pradesh Political Punch: Pulling A Face, Ministers Murmur, Minister’s Gimmicks, Grapes Are Sour!, & More

Pulling a face

A minister in the state cabinet is acting grumpy with the government, although when he got a cabinet berth for the first time, he was happy. Now, he feels he is not getting enough importance. Another minister in the cabinet is creating problems for him. Being senior to him, he gets a lot of importance in Bhopal as well as in Delhi, which is upsetting him. Because both come from the same district, the minister sometimes feels more neglected. But his sorrow deepened after the formation of the BJP’s core committee, which did not include him. He thinks because he has also become senior in the party ranks, he should have been on the committee. The minister also wants his political influence in his home district. He recently visited Delhi and complained to the central leadership against his senior colleague; however, the leadership advised him to solve his problems in the state.

Ministers murmur

Whispering among a few ministers continued for some time after a cabinet meeting. The minister put up a proposal before the cabinet for increasing the discretionary grants for the ministers of state. A minister gives financial aid from his funds to a person in one go. The cabinet approved the proposal. During a discussion over the proposal, a minister said the amount of financial aid given to the needy by the cabinet ministers should also be hiked. But the cabinet did not approve of his proposal. The minister, who put up the proposal, was in the soup for creating certain controversies. A court case may cost him his ministerial berth. When the minister put up the proposal, a minister of state, sitting near him, said that though he was uncertain of his own chair, he had put forward a proposal for raising discretionary grants. Another MoS grinned at the comments. Afterwards, the cabinet minister strongly put up his arguments over the transfer policy. When the meeting ended, another minister commented, for he wanted to make more money; he laid emphasis on increasing the number of transfers. After courting controversies, the minister’s influence over the government has waned.

Minister’s gimmicks

A minister from the Gwalior belt seems to have mastered the art of hogging media headlines through his acts, which have nothing to do with his official work, though. Such acts draw accolades from the public but rarely do any good for them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently appealed to the people to cut fuel consumption. Soon after the PM's call, the minister plunged into action, reaching Mantralaya on an e-scooter. He vowed to ride an e-scooter to save fuel as well as the environment. Once, he got into a clogged drain to clean it out. Whether he cleaned it or not was not known, but he stole the media headlines. During the summer last year, he vowed to keep away from wearing ironed clothes to save electricity. A year has passed since he took the oath, but people in the corridors of power are yet to know how many units or electricity he has saved by not wearing ironed clothes. Now, his colleagues are waiting for his next gimmick.

Grapes are sour!

The recent political appointments have shocked a politician who wanted to head a big corporation. The government, too, decided to appoint him to an important corporation. The politician spared no effort to take over the organisation, which, though it offers less scope for underhand dealings, is one of the most important establishments of the government. But the politician wanted to head a more important and bigger corporation than that. The outcome of his efforts was that the government appointed him chairman of a corporation smaller than the one he vied for. Now, the politician is telling his friends that the corporation is important, and, in the present situation, there are scopes for working in it. He also says the organisation, where he was being appointed, is in a bad state, but the party leaders say, "He went for wool and came home shorn."

Minister going viral

A minister in the state has gone viral these days after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were out. The minister, who was in charge of West Bengal for five years, played an important role in strengthening the party’s position in the state. The poll outcome made the minister emotional. He was nostalgic about the days he had spent in Bengal, where the BJP leaders were harassed. As he was sharing his experiences with others, tears were trickling down his cheeks, and a photograph of the incident went viral across the country. Afterwards, a video clip of the minister, in which he is seen dancing at the wedding function of another minister’s son, also went viral. In the video, a union minister is also seen. Many people across the country saw the politicians dancing at a wedding ceremony. The minister also met a senior leader of the party. The event has also drawn media attention. A photograph, in which the minister is seen with one of the most important and senior leaders of the party, has also drawn public attention. The minister’s growing importance in the public eye, for one reason or another, has upset many leaders in the state.

Cong leaders’ dreams

Two politicians from the Congress are working in the same region to carry out their missions. Both are influential in the region and yearn for different positions in the party. One of them wants to become the leader of the opposition in the assembly, so he is making efforts for it. Because his efforts have so far fallen through, he is upset and often issues unwanted statements. The other leader, vying for the post of MPCC president, feels he is as capable as the present head of the state party unit. He met many leaders of the party in Delhi and put his views before them. He also complained to the party bosses against the present MPCC president. The politician hopes there will be some changes in the party in the coming days. Some senior Congressmen are covertly supporting him. Nevertheless, the congressmen say those ambitious leaders in the party are unlikely to see their dreams come true until 2028.