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Prime Minister Modi’s unveiled a hologram statue of the freedom fighter at the India Gate in New Delhi. (Photo: Videograb/Youtube @Narendra Modi) For over 50 years a succession of governments waffled over what should be done with the empty canopy at Rajpath after King George V’s statue was removed to the Coronation Park in 1968. The debate as to which great icon’s statue should be placed at the premier spot continued endlessly. Most felt that Mahatma Gandhi was the rightful choice, though some Congresspersons suggested a memorial to Pandit Nehru and later even Indira Gandhi’s name was mooted. During Morarji Desai’s Janata Party rule, the CPWD commissioned sculptor Ram V Sutar to create a Gandhiji image in proportions which would fit the vacant pedestal and have high visibility on Rajpath. By the time the massive 16-foot-high bronze statue of Gandhiji sitting in lotus position was complete in 1993, the Congress was back in power. Some ruling party MPs voiced objections claiming that it was inappropriate to place the apostle of simplicity under a royal canopy. The CPWD changed its mind and handed over the statue to Parliament. Aesthetes complained that the statue’s dimensions looked incongruous in front of Parliament House. To support the argument not to install Gandhiji, some Left historians even floated a theory that the canopy should remain empty as a reminder of our imperial past. Small wonder that when Narendra Modi took the decision to install Netaji Bose’s statue, he wasted no time in argument. He made the surprise announcement after the graphic model was already prepared by the Ministry of Culture.
‘Undiplomatic Genuflection’
The deep division among retired foreign service officers over support to the Modi government has become public through open letters, blogs and newspaper articles. The Forum of Former Ambassadors has been around since 2020 but it is an open letter this month by four former diplomats, Kanwal Sibal, Shyamala Cowsik, Veena Sikri and Bhaswati Mukherjee — with 28 ex-ambassadors appending their signatures, including Lakshmi Puri, wife of central minister Hardeep Puri — which has raised the hackles of some of their former service colleagues. The article was a biting response to an open letter to President Kovind, endorsed by a hundred prominent personalities, including five former service chiefs, urging the government to take action against the hate speeches made in Haridwar and elsewhere by Hindutva elements. A former IAS officer, Avay Shukla, has joined the debate with a blog saying the forum’s attack on the distinguished signatories diminished the Indian Foreign Service. He termed it a “most undiplomatic genuflection’’ considering the vitriol of the language which is highly unusual among diplomats, who are trained to use measured language. Some wonder if the BJP’s IT cell had a hand in the draft.
Southern Option
By April the BJP has to decide on its presidential candidate for the July elections. Unlike 2017, when Ram Nath Kovind was a shoo-in, this time the NDA may not be as comfortably placed. It has lost allies such as the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena and its share of elected representatives in states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan has fallen. The outcome of the UP Assembly polls will be crucial. One reported strategy being discussed is to field a person from Tamil Nadu. The state, with 39 Lok Sabha seats, is one of the most powerful states electorally and the NDA’s vote share is negligible. It is felt that if a person from Tamil Nadu is chosen, opposition parties like the DMK would be persuaded to back the candidate out of regional loyalty. In fact, Tamil social media channels have started speculating on names such as Nirmala Sitharaman and governors Tamilisai Soundarajan and La Ganesan.
Relative Adversaries
Akhilesh Yadav’s step-mother Sadhana Gupta and uncle Shivpal Yadav are firm allies, united in their attempts to further the political ambitions of their immediate families and cut down the influence of the SP chief. Akhilesh thought he had checkmated them by his masterful announcement that no one but himself from the extended clan would contest the election on an SP ticket. But his adversaries did not fall in line. Sadhana’s daughter-in-law Aparna and her brother-in-law (sister’s husband) Pramod embarrassed Akhilesh by switching over to the BJP. Shivpal, meanwhile, refused to merge his PSP party with the SP and his only concession is that he will fight in alliance with the SP. That way, he keeps his options open post-elections.
Not Invited
The DGPs of the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITB and SSB were not invited to the Republic Day parade. The omission is perceived as a snub to the one odd million personnel of the central forces.
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