DailyOh! When Modi spoke in Bangla, to the price of free vaccines in Bihar for BJP
Modi sought forgiveness if he got the Bangla wrong, but have Bengalis got the message?
Aapander sokolke janai preeti, shubhechha, abhinandan
I extend my hearty wishes to you all.
Aapnader majhe ashte pere ami nijeke dhonyo mone korchhi
I feel honoured to be here among all of you.
Thus spoke Prime Minister Narendra Modi, joining the Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal as he inaugurated a puja pandal in Kolkata, sitting in Delhi. Standing and singing Rabindra sangeet at the Kolkata pandal was Modi’s party colleague Babul Supriyo. Modi sought forgiveness if he got his Bangla wrong, Supriyo sought none for getting his sur a little awry. We grant it anyway, since it's the festive season and all that.
How much of Bangla speaking and Rabindra sangeet singing will translate into votes when Bengal votes next year will be known next year. This year, BJP is fighting election in Bihar and has promised free vaccines for Biharis if the party’s coalition returns to power. What if the coalition loses? Our guess is as good as yours.
The announcement nevertheless led to people asking what about non-Biharis and the cost the BJP demands of making it free everywhere in India.
The ‘simple’ clarification has come from BJP IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya: “BJP’s manifesto promises free Covid vaccine. Like all programs, center will provide vaccines to states at a nominal rate.
It is for the state govts to decide if they want to give it free or otherwise. Health being a state subject, Bihar BJP has decided to give it free. Simple.”
Apart from free vaccines, the BJP manifesto released today also promises 19 lakh jobs. What sort of a figure is 19? We are not hinting at any astrological problem, but wouldn’t 20 have sounded a round figure? Parties mostly disappoint with election promises. They can at least give figures that sound round. The manifesto also promises appointment of 3 lakh new teachers, and one lakh jobs in the health sector and 30 lakh pucca houses for the poor by 2022.
So 30 lakh families in Bihar will get pucca houses if NDA wins and then remembers to keep the promise but Saif Ali Khan has got his Rs 8,00,00,00,000 Pataudi Palace back after paying off the lease. Khan paid Rs 8,00,00,00,000 in lease to the Neemrana Group of Hotels, who were given the palace on lease by Saif’s father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. But Saif feels the Rs 8,00,00,00,000 price tag is a massive exaggeration. Count the number of zeroes in that figure without pausing for a breath and you will realise just how massive the exaggeration is.
What the figure can’t reflect is Saif's joy of earning back what belonged to his family. India has warned Twitter against showing what belongs to India as part of China. The warning came after Twitter’s location settings showed Leh as part of China. In a letter to Twitter Inc CEO Jack Dorsey, the Indian government expressed its disapproval of the "misrepresentation of map of India" and asked the company to "respect sensitivities of Indian citizens".
Which reminds us that we need to remind you that it was on October 22, 1947, that the tribal invasion happened in Kashmir which led to Pakistan occupying parts of India. Under the 1963 Sino-Pakistan agreement, signed on March 2, Pakistan passed on 5,180 sq km of the land it had occupied from India to China in return for financial assistance and nuclear technology. What Pakistan also got from China, apart from financial assistance and nuclear technology, is what the whole world got from China - coronavirus.
The world is now looking for a vaccine and in this lookout process, a volunteer in Brazil died during the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine trial. That does not mean the trials are going to stop. Following the death, Oxford University has said there have been no concerns about the clinical trial. So the man could have died during the trial but probably not because of the trial. Given volunteer confidentiality, more cannot be revealed.
Not having the full details of the case can leave you unsettled about the trials because incomplete communication leaves us wanting more. Now, imagine no communication. Imagine no communication with a partner or friend with whom you had incessant communication. They call that ghosting.
Ghosting, the Word Of The Day, dates back to early 2000s. That is when online dating apps began to pick up and so did instances of people suddenly ‘deleting’ people from their lives. Ghosting entered Collins English Dictionary in 2015. Ghosting comes without any apparent warning or justification, quite like a bolt from the sky. While many blame social media for the rise of the trend, some say the blame lies with lack of empathy in society. It is also not limited to partners or casual hook-ups, but extends to close friends and even family members. It is also practised by employers with prospective candidates.
Now, if you gotta leave, you leave. But at least tell the person you are leaving that you are leaving. Maybe they have to return you money, maybe they want you to return theirs. So be fair and don’t let anyone cry foul. Rest, it is your life, do whatever you want to do.
What is India’s Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah doing with his day? Thanking people for wishing him a long and healthy life. That’s customary for everyone to do so on their birthdays.
Born in 1964, Shah turned 56 today. Shah is a full 14 years younger than Narendra Modi. The two met for the first time in 1982.
Many say Shah’s political career wouldn’t have taken off if it had not been for Modi. The same is said to be true the other way round.
Shah joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1980 when he was 16. But to join RSS, this son of a wealthy businessman needed the permission of his father. Permission denied, was Anichandra Shah’s message to son Amit. The family did not want its only son to go for the celibate life that RSS members are encouraged to follow.
He anyway involved himself in volunteering for the RSS. Then in 1982, Modi, who was an RSS pracharak, met Shah. With Modi’s guaidance, it is said Shah enrolled himself as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, students’ wing of the RSS. The rest is history.
From history, let’s move to the present. Oh, we forgot to say it: Happy birthday, Amit Shah.
In not-so-happy news for Shah’s party unit in Bihar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has tested positive for coronavirus. He has been admitted to AIIMS. By the time his quarantine ends, polling would have ended too; but nothing to worry, says BJP, because PM Modi will start his political rallies in the state tomorrow.
If you care two hoots about elections and want to chill with thrill in one go, we recommend Uncut Gems (2019). The movie is on Netflix. On Amazon Prime, releasing tonight is Mirzapur 2.
Hope you have stocked up on popcorns.
That will be all for today.
We will see you tomorrow.
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