Deep Throat

Heroic Politics

Now that Rajnikanth and Kamalahaasan are winding up their film careers to turn full-fledged politicians, there is an eager anticipation that other heroes past their prime will follow suit. The BJP is keen to recruit Arjun, who played the patriotic hero in his prime. Though it already has the glamorous and vocal Khushboo as its spokesperson, the Congress has its eye on Vikram, now that his son is making his film debut. Tamil Nadu needs fresh filmi faces in its politics, as the likes of Vijayakanth and Sharath Kumar have not made any headway even after more than a decade of campaigning. 

Power extension  

The power corridors are abuzz with talk about a successor to Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha, who was given a one-year extension in 2017 which will end on June 12. The name of a senior Gujarat cadre officer, believed to be close to the PM, is doing the rounds.  While some insist that this ­officer will take over from Sinha, others say that it may not happen since he would be superseding half a dozen senior IAS officers. Considering the government’s ­unpredictability, there is also a view that it may just give Sinha another extension. His predecessor Ajit Seth was given three—­including two of six months each by the Modi government—and served for four years.  Incidentally, no Gujarat cadre IAS officer has ever held the top job.

Pak-Pedalling

Farooq Abdullah had to do damage control after his party’s MLA  Akbar Lone shouted pro-Pakistan slogans in the State Assembly on the day militants barged into  Sunjuwan Army camp. Lone later said he couldn’t bear the BJP’s accusations, blaming Rohingya Muslims for the attack. The NC, which had been attacking the government over its failure to prevent attacks, went on the back foot.  Abdullah had to warn Pakistan of a war and talk of peace and dialogue in the same breath. NC sources claim  that this isn’t the first time—Lone was embroiled in other controversies when he was speaker of the Assembly.

Overheard Social media watchers are wondering about Arvind Kejriwal’s silence on the ­Narendra Modi front. They claim he hasn’t used the word ‘Modi’ in any tweet since March 2017.