The Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi wants to prove that states ruled by her party are tackling the coronavirus crisis better than the states under the BJP. She first wrote to the Congress chief ministers and followed it up with a video conference with them. Her sole concern was to ensure that the maximum possible help reached the poor. Apart from medical care, she asked the chief ministers to ensure that the poor did not go hungry. This triggered a competition of among Congress states, such as Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, who felt envious of Punjab and Maharashtra scoring better than them on the welfare scale. While Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh also took commendable steps, but they failed to match the communication skills of Uddhav Thackeray and Captain Amarinder Singh who succeeded in sending out clear message of their good management. In Punjab, Capt Amarinder managed to force the police to distribute flour, pulses and sugar to the poor living in slums. According to sources, Sonia Gandhi was still not satisfied and expected the states to be more generous than they have been.
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN STEPS OUT TO INSPECT BHOPAL LOCKDOWN
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the only minister in the five-day old BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, stepped out of his office on Saturday to see how the state capital was responding to the lockdown to arrest the coronavirus pandemic. Travelling alone in his vehicle and wearing a mask, the 61-year-old often got down to thank from a distance those engaged in cleaning, providing security and supplying essentials. This exercise was criticised by the opposition Congress, as an example of disregarding Prime minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to stay at home. There is no official word yet on when Chouhan will expand his Cabinet and speculation is that he will do it only after the lockdown ends.
DUSHYANT CHAUTALA’S QUIP ON KEEPING LIQUOR SHOPS OPEN
When long queues in front of liquor shops in Haryana continued unabated during the nationwide lockdown, the media confronted the deputy chief minister Dushyant Singh Chautala with uncomfortable questions. The deputy chief minister was asked why liquor shops were opening at a time when essential items were not available. Chautala came up with a gem: “Public health crisis is already troubling us. If drinking stops, large number of people will fall sick. They will come to hospitals and the doctor will have to treat them. This is an avoidable diversion.”
WILL REMAINING 92 CONGRESS MLAs QUIT, FORCING MID-TERM POLLS IN MP?
Election Commission of India (ECI) has deferred the Rajya Sabha elections that were scheduled for March 26. This time, 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament were up for grabs, and out of those, 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest. The decision on holding the Rajya Sabha election for the remaining 18 seats will be taken based on the prevailing situation, sources said. Meanwhile, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, had taken oath after the fall of Kamal Nath-led Congress government due to the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs from the assembly. Now it is interesting to see whether the coronavirus lockdown will affect the chances of RS election for Digvijay Singh and Phool Singh Baraiya. The first preference vote will decide the winning candidates. On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh Congress is thinking of declaring resignation of all the 92 MLAs from the assembly at the time of announcement of by-election in 24 seats, which would result in mid-term polls in Madhya Pradesh.
UTTARAKHAND SEES ONE-DAY BUDGET SESSION AMID CORONA LOCKDOWN
Coronavirus not only has cut short Parliament session but also has hampered the Budget session of Uttarakhand Assembly, especially upsetting chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. CM had earlier announced that summer session of assembly would commence from 25 March in summer capital Gairsain, but due to coronavirus-induced lockdown, Uttarakhand government instead opted for a one-day Budget session in Dehradun. Within a day, without any discussion the budget was passed and opposition leader Indira Hridayesh has supported the government in passing the Budget. In the end of the session, both the Congress and BJP MLAs rushed back to their homes. In fact, coronavirus has disturbed all the preparations and announcements of chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat before the coming assembly election. (IPA)