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Dilli Gupshup: Will Uttarakhand CM be sacked?

Last updated on: June 25, 2013 19:32 IST

Image: While the Indian Army rose to the occasion -- Captain Febha Susan walked 15 kilometres to help Saraswati Devi deliver her baby -- Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Vijay Bahuguna's response to the tragedy was ineffective.
Photographs: Courtesy: Indian Army

What was Team Rahul's big mistake?

Why are Brahmins dominating the All India Congress Committee?

Why Food Minister KV Thomas can't visit Rome...

All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup.

If indications from Delhi are to be believed, the Uttarakhand tragedy will have political repercussions as well.

There are increased rumblings that the state's chief minister, Vijay Bahuguna, will get the axe. If this happens, it won't be the first time a natural calamity has unseated a chief minister.

Those who follow the ups and downs of the political world will remember how Giridhar Gamang was summarily dismissed as chief minister of Orissa after his inept handling of the super cyclone in 1999.

Now, pressure is mounting on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and All India Congress Committee Vice President Rahul Gandhi to consider a change of guard in Uttarakhand.

Many of those who have been following the search-and-rescue efforts in the beleaguered state say they are shocked by Bahuguna's ineffective response to the calamity.

But Bahugana has some powerful friends who had helped him into the chief minister's chair, edging out rival claimant Harish Rawat.

Rawat, who is currently Union water resources minister, has not demanded Bahugana's exit yet... He seems to be waiting for the Congress high command to take a decision.

Please click on NEXT to find out how Team Rahul blundered...

Team Rahul's BIG mistake!

Image: Neither Rahul Gandhi, nor his close team members, were in the country when calamity struck Uttaranchal.
Photographs: Kamal Kishore/ Reuters

It was a case of bad timing for Team Rahul.

Rahul Gandhi was out of the country when tragedy struck Uttarakhand.

Unfortunately for the AICC vice president and the Congress's big hope, key members from Team Rahul were also missing when tardy rescue operations compounded the calamity in the state.

Union Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Home R P N Singh and Minister of Corporate Affairs Sachin Pilot were in France, the UK and USA respectively when the UPA regime in New Delhi and Vijay Bahugana in Dedradun fought a grim battle against nature's fury.

A section of the Congress that's unwilling to blame Rahul wonders why these otherwise efficient ministers, who normally have their ear to the ground, did not return home quickly?

Please click on NEXT to read about the Congress's Brahmin Raj...

The Congress's Brahmin Raj!

Image: Clockwise, from top left: C P Joshi, Gurudas Kamat, Janardhan Dwivedi, Mohan Prakash and Motilal Vora -- Brahmins all!

Post the recent reshuffle, the AICC secretariat has a distinct upper caste tilt.

Of the 12 AICC general secretaries, five are Brahmins -- namely C P Joshi, Gurudas Kamat, Janardhan Dwivedi, Mohan Prakash and Motilal Vora (as treasurer, he is at par with the general secretaries).

If one includes Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi, the Brahmin hold over the party becomes even more pronounced.

Party insiders insist that the change is deliberate since the Congress has its eye on the upper caste votes in Uttar Pradesh.

Please click on NEXT to find out why CBI Director Ranjit Sinha should not be underestimated...

Don't underestimate this CBI director!

Image: CBI Director Ranjit Sinha is no pushover.
Photographs: Courtesy cbi.nic.in

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha is turning out to be smarter than expected.

The latest person to have underestimated Sinha is Union Home Secretary R K Singh.

Singh recently called a meeting with Intelligence Bureau Director Asif Ibrahim and Sinha to settle a row between the two key institutions.

The senior bureaucrat, however, was in for a surprise when he sought evidence about certain classified information from Sinha.

The CBI director said such documents could only be produced in court.

Singh, reportedly, had more than enough reason to be surprised -- after all, he was instrumental in helping Sinha get this high-profile, and highly-coveted, post.

Please click on NEXT to find out why Union Food Minister K V Thomas is an unhappy man...

Why K V Thomas can't visit Rome...

Image: Food Minister K V Thomas's Rome visit will have to wait.
Photographs: Courtesy consumeraffairs.nic.in

Union Minister for Food K V Thomas has long nursed a desire to visit Rome.

It looked like his dream would be fulfilled, after all, since India has a long-pending invitation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which is headquartered in Rome.

Accepting this invitation meant he could also visit the Vatican and seek blessings from Pope Francis.

Unfortunately for Thomas, the recent domestic developments relating to the food security bill means the food minister's presence is required in the country.

Yet, Thomas thought he could go on this long-cherished journey if the Cabinet issued an ordinance on food security. But the Cabinet deferred its decision.

And, since the monsoon session of Parliament is due to begin soon, Thomas has been advised not to leave the country.

The FAO, and the Pope, clearly, can wait.