JULY 29, 2018 • THE WEEK 17CHIEF’S GRIEF
Arvind Kejriwal’s woes
never seem to end. Barely
four months ago, Bhagwant
Mann quit as Punjab Aam
Aadmi Party president, and
refused to withdraw his
resignation despite the Delhi
chief minister’s request.
Dr Balbir Singh was given
charge of Punjab. However,
on July 15, 16 AAP leaders
complained that Singh was
being dictatorial and sent their
resignations to Kejriwal, who
already has his hands full with
issues in the capital.
WIZARD OF WORDS
Akhilesh Yadav, former Uttar
Pradesh chief minister, has a
knack for giving nicknames.
When ‘Behenji’ was the
preferred moniker for BSP
president Mayawati, the
Samajwadi Party president
named her ‘Bua’ (father’s
sister). Th en, when former
party leader Amar Singh
stood against him during a
family feud, Akhilesh called
him ‘Dalal’ (middleman).
Now, he has tied up Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
in a witty term. Recently,
addressing them, he said the
‘double-engine government’
had failed to put Uttar Pradesh
on the track of development.
BLAME GAME
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece Panchjanya has published
a story criticising actor Sanjay Dutt, who was once convicted in an arms
case. Th e movie Sanju might be breaking box offi ce records, but it has
been slammed for glorifying a man with a criminal past.
It seems outrage has become politicians’ favourite pastime, and
Bollywood is the target. Recently, a Congress leader fi led a complaint
against the creators of the web series Sacred Games, starring Saif
Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, for dialogue insulting former
prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Th e issue was only resolved when party
president Rahul Gandhi came out in support of freedom of speech.
Elsewhere, in Punjab, the Akali Dal was outraged when Bollywood actor
Sunny Leone used her original name, Karenjit Kaur, in a series based on
her life. Th e Akalis objected to the use of the name Kaur, saying she was
never a practising Sikh, and that her past (she was an adult fi lm star)
was too dirty to accord her the religious identity.