At a protest against Jalalabad suicide bombing. (PTI)
Showing Solidarity
There were some unusual attendees at a protest by the Sikh community in Delhi against the killing of Sikhs in Afghanistan in a suicide bombing. Afghan diplomats in Delhi joined the demonstration, the idea being to display solidarity with the Sikh community. This mollified the protesters, as the Afghan envoys made it clear that they stood with the community against terrorist attacks.
On The Same Track
BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will both be in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh for two days. Shah will be in Mirzapur and Varanasi on Wednesday, and Agra on Thursday. He will hold meetings with BJP workers, senior party leaders and prominent people of Kashi and adjoining regional units. Rahul will be in his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi for two days to attend programmes with farmers and traders. The presence of chiefs of both the parties in the same state with same agenda —2019 Lok Sabha elections — is likely to set the tone for the polls. Both leaders will meet social media volunteers of their respective parties. Rahul will also hold meetings with gram sabha heads and traders and chaupal with farmers in different Assembly segments of Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Shah, too, will hold meetings with IT cell workers in Mirzapur and Varanasi. He is likely to hold meetings of IT cell workers in Agra, where leaders from adjoining districts will be called.
Health-Wise
Amid his hectic schedule as the head of BJP’s national media cell, Anil Baluni is doing his bit to keep a prospective constituency alive in his home state of Uttarakhand. Baluni, who had donated a major part of his first salary to an orphanage there, is now planning to keep aside a portion of his MPLADS funds to improve health facilities. Three government hospitals in Uttarakhand will get ICUs built with the MPLAD fund every year. The move will augur well, with the central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme to be taken up in a big way by the ruling party in the coming months.