Opinion Cabinet Reshuffle

Given that P. Chidambaram has come in for criticism from the Sangh Parivar for investigating right-wing Hindu terrorism,his move away from the home ministry appears to have been welcomed. The editorials — “Celebrating failures” in Organiser and “Congress’ caste politics” in Panchjanya — were critical of Sushilkumar Shinde’s elevation from power minister to home minister,with Chidambaram’s appointment as finance minister questioned on the grounds of his alleged abuse of position.

“He [Shinde was shifted out of [the power ministry,in the peak of [the crisis to hold charge of an even more important portfolio — the internal security of the nation,” the editorial in Organiser said,rejecting Shinde’s claim that he was a good power minister. On Chidambaram,the editorial only says that he remains “suspect” for his role in 2G spectrum case.

Panchjanya’s editorial alleges that the government rewarded Shinde for his caste credentials and not for his competence,using the recent power grid failure to highlight his perceived incompetence as power minister.

“Since under Manmohan Singh nobody is accountable for anything that is happening in the country,the culprits,bad managers and underachievers go unpunished,” writes Organiser.

Recruiting youth

The Sangh Parivar seems to have started to try to dispel the notion of not being able to attract young volunteers to its fold,or so a full-page special interview of RSS general secretary Bhaiyaji Joshi in Organiser suggests. The interview headline asserts his demand to “detect,delete and dep-ort all Bangladeshi infiltrators” against the backdrop of the recent violence in Assam. The interview highlights the purported efforts and achievements of the RSS in attracting young people and IT professionals to its training camps.

“About 70 Sangh Shiksha Vargas were organised all over the country. About 16,000 swayamsevaks underwent training in all the first,second and third year Vargas. Majority of the participants,i.e. about 14,000 of the 16000,were youth,” Joshi claimed in the interview,which that also highlights efforts to attract IT professionals in Karnataka. “We are trying to make this experiment more effective in other Prants also,” he said.

Mamata,not Akhilesh

Separate reports in Organiser and Panchjanya indicate that the Sangh Parivar is disillusioned with Akhilesh Yadav’s government in Uttar Pradesh while maintaining great expectations from Mamata Banerjee’s tenure as chief minister in West Bengal.

While an article in Panchjanya comes down against Yadav’s governance in UP,arguing that it “lost the track from very beginning”,another article in Organiser praises Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal for making unions backed by the Left parties “beat a retreat” over a strike that was called off under Banerjee’s deft political handling.

Compiled by Ravish Tiwari