AMID CHILL, POLITICAL ‘BONFIRES’ KEEP HEAT ON…

Winter has finally set in with all the festivals and fairs being inaugurated. But amid the goodwill gestures and the comfortable settings, politics is continuing unabated albeit in a veiled manner. While we look back to see what all happened in the political arena, it is now all quiet on the rajneeti front… as 2022 almost comes to an end. This year ended on a political high with three major elections being held… the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections and the Delhi MCD polls.

THE OUTCOME IS KNOWN TO ONE AND ALL. NOW IT’S ALPVIRAM AS THEY SAY…
In 2023, five states will go to polls and before that the political lull is much-required. We take a look at how despite the festive season and chill around, the embers of the political yagna keep ticking… In the past one week, the 28th edition of Kolkata International Film Festival was inaugurated in Kolkata where in a very generic way, dignitaries expressed themselves. Also in Parliament, the Mahua Moitra and Nirmala Sitharaman verbal chit-chat generated some heat in this winter.

WE SHALL FOLLOW THE BYTES AT BOTH THE OCCASIONS…
Speaking during the inauguration of the Kolkata International Film Festival at the Netaji indoor Stadium, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on December 15 asserted that the state always fights for humanity, unity and integrity and does not bow down to anyone on these issues. She went on to say, “Bengal has been fighting for unity, humanity, diversity and integrity. This struggle will go on,” she said. What was indirectly seen as a precursor to the pre-release bash of his film Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan was also present at the Kolkata International Film Festival. During his speech at the event, SRK, who is eagerly anticipating the release of Pathaan, touched upon the negative impacts of social media and the negative energy that spreads in society through social media platforms. Since the release of Pathaan’s song “Besharam Rang,” the hashtag “Boycott Pathaan” has been trending on Twitter. People on social media are criticising SRK and Deepika Padukone’s green and saffron costumes in the song. Without referencing Pathaan, Shah Rukh talked about the “narrowness of view” on social media and even questioned those with a pessimistic outlook. “Cinema and advent of articulation through social media platforms have now become the foremost expression of human emotions and experience. The collective narrative of our times is shaped by social media and contrary to the belief that the spread of social media will affect the cinema negatively, I believe cinema has an even more important role to play now.” SRK said. Moreover, while responding to the ‘#BoycottPathaan’ trend against his film, SRK said, “I have no objection in saying that whatever the world says, I, you and all positive people are (Zinda Hai) alive.” His final ‘zinda hain,’ conveyed in the style of his Pathaan character, drew applause from the huge crowd gathered there.

HEAT ON IN PARLIAMENT
To keep the Winter session of Parliament warm and politically relevant, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had Wednesday slammed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led West Bengal government and said that it is not about whose hands the ‘matchbox’ is but how it is used. While hitting back at TMC’s Mahua Moitra’s remarks in Parliament, Sitharaman said that the central government used ‘matchbox’ to bring light to the lives of people, whereas in Bengal, it was used for arson. Smarting under Mahua Moitra’s attack on the Centre, Sitharaman hit back, saying “maachis” of people’s mandate given to Mamata Banerjee’s party led to arson and loot in the state post election victory. “Recently, the BJP had a fantastic victory in Gujarat. Post-election, the elected government came to power peacefully and was sworn-in. Now, compare it with what happened in West Bengal, post-elections. Now, who used the matchbox and how, is the question,” Sitharaman said. “When we had the so-called matchbox, we gave Ujjwala Yojana, Ujala, PM Kisan, launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, but when you (TMC) got the matchbox, there was arson, rape, violence in Bengal post elections. Houses of BJP workers were set ablaze. A central minister was attacked,” she added.

Earlier, known for her fiery speeches, Moitra had heavily criticised the government for its assertions of economic progress. The choice of her words, jibe and the scathing attack was backed by data and included the taunt “Who is Pappu now”. The counterpoint by the Finance Minister was equably loquacious, hitting back to “Search Pappu in her backyard”. The Opposition lashed out at the government pointing to its effort to obtain gross supplementary expenditure for the 2022-23 grants worth around Rs 4.36 lakh crores for the current fiscal. The additional requirements include net cash outgo aggregating to over Rs 3.25 lakh crores and gross additional expenditure, matched by enhanced receipts aggregating to over Rs 1.10 lakh crores. However, before the action starts in 2023, politicians seemingly will all take a break as we all hope that Santa Claus will have enough gifts for all… especially for the ones who remained deprived in 2022 and for those who were robbed of their rights in 2022.

Merry Christmas to All! THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India