Chatterbox: Delhi, HP get new Congress chiefs; more changes on the anvil

Sheila Dikshit was appointed to head Delhi unit of the Congress while Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been chosen for the top position in Himachal Pradesh

Congress’ change of guard(s)

The Rahul Gandhi effect on the Congress is palpable but there seems to be no pattern. 80-year-old Sheila Dikshit was appointed to head the Delhi unit of the Congress after Ajay Maken’s resignation was accepted. But in Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the nominee of the 80-year-old former Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh was replaced from the top position in the state party. His replacement is Kuldeep Singh Rathore, considered close to Rajya Sabha deputy leader, Anand Sharma. While Rathore is considered anti-Virbhadra, he has never criticised Virbhadra publicly. More organisational changes are on the anvil.

Case of “selfitis”

Two BJP lawmakers last week asked a pertinent question in the Lok Sabha: What was the government doing about selfie disorders or “selfitis” — a reference to the growing habit of people taking selfies and posting on social media sites. Om Prakash Yadav (Siwan) and Harish Dwivedi (Basti) also asked about the number of people found affected with this problem in Bihar. “As per the International Classification of Diseases of World Organization, Selfitis has not been recognised as a disorder,” junior health minister Anupriya Patel said in a written reply. She informed the lower House of Parliament that the number of people reporting excessive cases of clicking selfies and those who have approached therapists to seek help for this in the country is not maintained centrally. It is well known that more Indians have died taking selfies than any other nationality in the world. So who knows, maybe this will be the subject of a Mann ki Baat chat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.