Karnataka unit Congress president D K Shivakumar.
New Karnataka unit Congress president D K Shivakumar has announced a nationwide yatra to reach out to the “common man whose trials and tribulations should be heard and addressed” during Covid-19 crisis. But not many in either the party’s national leadership or in his state unit are apparently very enthusiastic about the plan. While state leaders see it as Shivakumar’s attempt to acquire a bigger stature, the national leadership is said to be apprehensive of the repercussions of such a tour during the pandemic, believing it could backfire for the party. Many, it appears, had advised Shivakumar against the move but he has mentioned in his announcement that he is not looking for “any political advantage” but wants to do it as a Kannadiga person. The Congress national leadership is yet to be convinced, it seems.
Kudos After Closure
Railways Ministry officers got field officers, many of them probationers, to shut down their voluntary online platform SETU, which ensured delivery of medicines, PPE and farm products in parcel trains across India. The Railways brass called the initiative “departmentalism” since it was run by IRTS officers. Twitter activity of SETU was stopped abruptly on April 27. But in an irony of sorts, many government agencies outside the Railways are tweeting in praise of the initiative. On Wednesday, official Twitter handles of the NDMA, PIB in Jammu and Kashmir, and ‘Invest India’, the national investment promotion agency, tweeted in praise of SETU, calling them #coronawarriors. One of the tweets tagged the SETU handle, but there was no acknowledgment since it has been kept dormant.
In Line For Online
India and Australia have not been able to have their summit-level meeting since Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison could not travel to India in January due to the bushfires in his country. And now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, chances of scheduling a summit seems bleak in near future. But New Delhi and Canberra are discussing the possibility of a virtual summit early June. Dates are being finalised, and it could take place on June 4. Besides an official meeting, ideas are being thrown around on how to make some interesting videos.