As Azad takes giant steps in Dalit politics, Mayawati looses sleep

Disconcerted at the prospect of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar getting support from the Dalit youth with his participation in the ongoing Citizenship Amendment Act protests and subsequent arrest in Delhi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati (pictured) has dubbed him a puppet in the hands of her opponents. She said Chandrashekhar, as part of a conspiracy, was bent on hurting the BSP’s vote bank in Delhi. According to her, the Bhim Army chief stages such protests to get arrested and later play the victim card to gain public sympathy and publicity. Earlier, Mayawati had labelled Chandrashekhar, who has dropped his alias of Ravan, an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party  and spurned his overtures to join forces with her.

 

Just need your blessings

 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has turned Santa for many senior citizens this December. Several of them have received a letter from him offering a free trip to a range of places — from Madurai and Rameshwaram to Amritsar and Bhubaneswar, to name a few. The letter says the cost of the trip — AC train tickets, food and stay, and having an attendant — will be borne by the government. All they have to do is reach out to their local MLA and get their names listed. If the cynics are wondering whether the freebie has anything to do with the elections next year, they are wrong. The letter mentions the government wants nothing but blessings from the elderly.

 

A unique protest

 

A Member of Parliament of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) found a unique way to protest. Gorantla Madhav, a member of the Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh's Hindupur, surprised media persons by licking police boots to protest alleged remarks by opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader J C Diwakar Reddy against the police force. Madhav, a former police officer, said he was reacting to allegations by Reddy that the police under the YSRCP dispensation were partisan. Reddy, a former MP, had also said that if the TDP returned to power, it would force officers from the “partisan police force” to "lick our boots".