Delhi confidential: Lavish praise

Delhi confidential: Lavish praise

Former Supreme Court judge said that Naveen appeared to be one CM whose popularity surged with every assembly election.


IT is not everyday that a retired Supreme Court judge is seen showering praises on a politician in public. On Sunday, former Supreme Court judge A K Patnaik was lavish in applauding Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Speaking at a function where the CM was also present, the former judge said that Naveen appeared to be one CM whose popularity surged with every assembly election. He added that Naveen was a politician who had remained unfazed by the “anti-incumbency” factor and that he had come back to power every time with a thumping mandate.


AFTER Teachers’ Day and Gandhi Jayanti, the BJP-led government has something planned for schoolchildren on Children’s Day as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now planning a mini cleanliness campaign from November 14 to 19, as part of his larger Swachh Bharat mission. On November 14, the Human Resource Development Ministry will be the nodal agency for the campaign, and it will ensure that students are given lessons on cleanliness and made to take part in the drive in their schools.


WITH the party’s seasoned spokespersons having become ministers, there seems to be a paucity of articulate leaders which the BJP can depend on to argue its case. Nalin Kohli was fielded to handle a press conference once but he had a tough time answering probing questions. Another spokesperson, Anil Baluni, has never been asked to field a full press conference alone. Even Sambit Patra, the party’s most visible face on TV these days, stumbled on Tuesday while addressing media on the Haryana government’s decision to clear a land deal involving Robert Vadra. He had a tough time explaining why the BJP-ruled Rajasthan government had failed to initiate action against Vadra for alleged irregularities in land deals in that state.