At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) excitement just doesn't end. This week, on October 1, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will address the UNGA meeting. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to speak on September 30. What will he say? What will Swaraj say? Does anyone even care?
It is now clear that the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, despite staying in the same hotel, will not meet. So Sharif is using the second best option - meeting Kashmiri leaders in New York, expecting, presumably, to get a rise out of India. New Delhi is obviously going to say nothing - whom the Pakistani PM meets in a foreign capital is his business. But what Sharif says and how Swaraj replies should be an interesting polemic.
Modi to address first rally in Banka
If the past week was all about Modi in the Bay Area, the coming week is going to be all about Modi in Banka.
He is returning to Delhi on Tuesday and will head for Bihar to address a rally in Banka on Thursday, the first rally after a five-phase election was declared in Bihar.
The chief campaigner of BJP has already addressed five public rallies in the state, beginning with Muzaffarpur and followed by Gaya, Saharsa, Ara and Bhagalpur. Though the list of BJP's poll campaigners includes names of 40 party leaders like party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, and even Shatrughan Sinha, Modi will obviously be the star campaigner.
Party leader Shahnawaz Husain has said that with Modi's arrival, the political wave in favour of the NDA in Bihar will turn into a tsunami. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Bihar and the people of this state have a lot of hope from him(PM Modi). In the last 35 years, Lalu Prasad ruled for 15 years, Congress ruled for 10 years and Nitish for 10 years. They have ruled Bihar for 420 months, but have not done any work in the state," he added.
SC to hear Somnath Bharti's bail plea
Today, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Delhi's ex-law minister Somnath Bharti, on the anticipatory bail which he was denied by the High Court. The question is, what Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal going to do if Bharti is arrested. Will Bharti be defended by government lawyers? Will he be his own lawyer? In the course of the week, we will know the answers but at the moment, this is an embarrassing moment for the Aam Aadmi Party which launched its campaign after the Nirbhaya rape case and made safety of women a cause celebre.
Will the BJP clarify R K Singh's remarks?
This week we should hear the BJP come out to clarify the remarks of controversial Member of Parliament from Arrah and former Home Secretary RK Singh, who alleged over the weekend that the Bihar unit of his party had given nominations to criminals. If the party was favouring such individuals, he asked, what was the difference between the BJP and parties led by people like Lalu Prasad? Singh has also claimed he kept trying to telephone Sushil Modi, the state BJP leader, but he wouldn't pick up the phone.
Shatrughan Sinha, happy to back anyone who criticises the local BJP unit, has supported Singh. He has said Singh is an MP and a responsible person - he would not have made allegations like these if he did not have evidence.
The party is in hot water. If it supports Singh, it will be letting down Modi, the tallest leader of the party in Bihar, who could become Chief Minister. If it contradicts Singh, it is attacking one of its MPs. Apparently, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh have been pressed into service to mollify Singh. What action the party takes needs to be watched.
Kerala local body elections
Kerala will announce local body elections on October 5. The model code of conduct will kick in immediately. The entire election process, including declaration of results, will be completed before November 15. A Congress-headed United Democratic Front is in power in Kerala. There was a controversy over this election and a petition was filed in the high court. The schedule has been announced by the Election Commission following court intervention.
