Bihar : Lok Sabha Elections में BJP ने अश्विनी चौबे का टिकट काटा, गिरिराज फिर बेगूसराय से उतरेंगे चुनावी मैदान में

Patna: भाजपा ने लोकसभा के उम्मीदवारों की रविवार को एक और सूची जारी की है। इसमें एनडीए के बिहार के भाजपा कोटे के सभी 17 प्रत्यशियों के नाम शामिल हैं। भाजपा की सूची में तीन सांसदों का टिकट कट गया है। बक्सर से अश्विनी चौबे के बदले मिथिलेश तिवारी को प्रत्याशी बनाया गया है, जबकि मुजफ्फरपुर से अजय निषाद के बदले राजभूषण निषाद को चुनाव मैदान में उतारा गया है। भाजपा ने सासाराम से छेदी पासवान के बदले…

View On WordPress

Is India really going to be renamed as 'Bharat'?

Aah you are gonna get me banned from here and red listed by the Indian govt 😭😭😭 buckle up, this will be a long one

So, bharat is already a name for the country. It's the Indian hindi name. So the constitutions Article 1 says 'India that is Bharat shall be a union of states.....' so it's already a name.

Now the government seemingly had no problems with the name ' India' before this month really. Infact in 2016 some conservative nationalist had gone to the Supreme Court petioning that we need to change the name since 'India's a foreign name, colonial etc etc' and back then, the same government had said no need to change it, it's the choice of the people. You wanna call it India you can, or if you wanna call it Bharat you can.

Now it's just rumors at this point but the people have been saying pretty much that the government is going to change the name. Media houses have hyped the rumor up. Celebrities have jumped in etc. Full on political storm at this point.

So the issue comes from the fact that the opposition basically all the opposition parties came together and formed an Alliance for the next elections happening in 2024 and they named themselves I.N.D.I.A. And since the day they formally decided to come together, it's only been political drama. Now you can easily guess where this thing about changing the name has come from. It's nothing but blatant insecurity.

The ruling party is not doing well there's been a lot of issues of their own doing. They're losing state elections. They've lost a lot of momentum due to their mishandling of a lot of things especially the Civil War situation in the state of Manipur, the way they have used religion as a way to divide people all across the country, the very high inflation, the basically non response to the environmental crisis - sinking of Joshimath, flash floods all across the country this monsoon, the washing away of roads, buildings collapsing like a house of playcards basically in the state of himachal. The government's Covid response? Disgusting.

Then there's a lot of other problems like for example the Indian wrestlers were protesting against the chairman of their federation. He's a bjp mp and the atheletes were accusing him of sexual harassment and the government didn't respond for a long time. He resigned but he still an MP in Parliament by the way.

Then the controller and auditor general (CAG) the one who actually audits the govt accounts, all the expenditure on the Indian treasury etc. They've actually released reports saying that a lot of the developmental projects have used excess money than what they were supposed to have used as per the initial estimates so that's another thing. Also there's very little press freedom, almost non exisitent freedom for activists. There's very little transparency especially when it comes to things established by this government.

They also tend to also put the laws in the constitution on the back burner and do their own thing as per their own whims. Don't even get me started on the kind of expenditure they are doing for the G20 summit happening right now. And the other things surrounding it in terms of organization etc, just search about what they've done to the low income areas of Delhi during this time on the internet and you'll find out

These are just a few issues, there's a lot more and I'm not putting them here since it's already turned into an essay. But safe to say that M*di and his govt would have had very stiff competition in the elections next year because a large population of the people are just not interested in their whataboutry now and want the real tangible things to be done on ground in terms of Healthcare, planning, education etc.

And if they actually do it, change the name I mean then it is basically a last ditch by the government to get their ardent supporters back on their side, give them a shot of nationalism and make sure they vote for them next year.

Legally speaking article 1, which I mentioned above it can be amended but till what level can you amend it? That's what I'm unsure about and I have been researching for the past few days, so still in the process of it. Because the thing is that the Indian constitution is both rigid as well as flexible. Basically means that, you can amend the constitution but you can't encroach upon or you can't change its basic structure like the main tenants which make it the document that it is. So I'm not particularly sure over how much the first article be amended to facilitate this name change. It's not even a name change really it's the deletion of one of the names.

The name which is basically what everybody knows the country as. If they do change it then it would be nothing but a political gimmick but also it will be a waste of a lot of taxpayer money. I'm honestly scared to calculate how much it would cost and what all would need to change from people's legal documents, to names of state institutions, their documents, the public sector firms, educational institutions etc.

Another issue is the language, Bharat is the Hindi name and a lot of states might not accept given the fact that their local languages have always been given a lower position as compared to the North Indian Hindi. Then there's the history attached to it the name India and the govt will be basically bulldozing all that has been associated with it if they delete it.

Now people who've never actually opened a book up in their lives say that this is a name given by the British so it's our Colonial Legacy etc, but the thing is the name 'India' is actually related to the ancient Greeks who used to trade with the people of the indus Valley civilization. Locally the indus river was known as 'sindhu' and they in their own language translated it to 'indus' and thus, the word India came into being - the people who lived on the indus Valley were thus called 'Indians'. And then this name India given by the Greeks was later exported to other western cultures etc. So not a colonial Legacy after all.

A lot of other things also but the gist is that the name change/name deletion situation is a very slippery slope to go down.

Once again saying that it's just rumors at its point, but I won't be surprised that they are thinking it. the government is known to take pretty significant and often rash decisions without any prior information to anybody. Still it's just rumors till now.

Ex Bihar MP's Surprise Dawn Release From Jail Amid Prison Rule Change Row

The current location of Anand Mohan Singh, who has served 15 years in jail for abetting the murder of an IAS officer in 1994, is not known.

Patna: Former Bihar MP Anand Mohan Singh walked out of jail in the early hours today amid a huge row over the Bihar government's prison rule change that cleared the path for his release.

The current location of Singh, who has served 15 years in jail for abetting the murder of an IAS officer in 1994, is not known. His son and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Chetan Anand is unreachable on phone and the family's house in Saharsa is locked.

The gangster-turned-politician was initially to be released around 7 am. But the sudden change of plan was reportedly made to avoid the media.

Singh was out on a 15-day parole for his son's wedding. During the break, he spoke to media. He returned to jail only yesterday.

The former MP's release from jail comes after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar tweaked the jail rules. Earlier, anyone convicted in connection with the murder of a public servant on duty was not eligible for a remission in sentence. This was changed by the Bihar government, paving the way for the release of 27 convicts, including Singh, who have served 14 years or more behind the bars.

The move has sparked a huge controversy, with Nitish Kumar government drawing fire from the Opposition BJP. BJP's MP Sushil Kumar Modi, also Bihar's former deputy Chief Minister, has said Mr Kumar had sacrificed law to stay on in power with support from ally RJD.

Singh, who represented RJD in Lok Sabha, is considered a prominent Rajput face. And his release is being seen as a move to attract Bihar's upper caste votes in the 2024 general election. The release also comes against the backdrop of Mr Kumar meeting Opposition leaders to stitch a joint front to take on the BJP in 2024.

Singh, who faced multiple cases, was found guilty of instigating a mob that lynched district magistrate G Krishnaiah, a Dalit IAS officer, in 1994. Krishnaiah was attacked by a mob protesting with the body of Chhotan Shukla, another gangster-politician of Anand Mohan's party, who had been killed a day earlier. Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2007, but the Patna High Court later commuted the penalty to life imprisonment.

The late IAS officer's wife has expressed disappointment over Singh's release. Speaking to NDTV, Uma Krishnaiah said, "We don't agree with the move. It's in a way encouraging the criminals. It sends out a message that you can commit a crime, and go to jail but then get freed and join politics. The death penalty was good."

The Central IAS Association, the top body for bureaucrats in the country, has slammed the move. "Such dilution leads to impunity, erosion of morale of public servants, undermines public order and makes a mockery of administration of justice," it has said.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, too, has criticised the Bihar government's move that paved the way for Singh's release, calling it an "anti-Dalit" step.

Speaking to the media during his parole break, Singh had responded to the uproar over his release. Taking a dig at the BJP, he had said sarcastically, "A decision has been taken in Gujarat due to pressure by Nitish Kumar and RJD. Some people have been released and greeted with garlands." Asked if he was referring to the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, he said, "Yes, that's what I am referring to". BJP is in power in Gujarat.

He had said all the 27 people whose names are in the list for remission of sentence have served their time in the jail. "It's not that the state government is letting people walk free just like that. There is a Supreme Court directive."

BJP released new list of candidates in UP, Minister Swati Singh's ticket cut

BJP released new list of candidates in UP, Minister Swati Singh’s ticket cut

Lucknow : The ticket of Swati Singh, MLA from Sarojininagar in Lucknow and Minister of State for Women Welfare and Child Development in the Yogi government, has been cut. Actually, the Bharatiya Janata Party has released another list of its candidates. In this list, the names of the candidates have been decided on all the nine seats of the capital Lucknow. Swati Singh’s name is missing from this…

View On WordPress

Why did Congress veteran RPN Singh quit the party and join BJP?

A political analyst while talking about the exodus of the Gen-next from Congress remarked "ideological fidelity is an oxymoron."  Over a period of time, a host of Congress leaders, who once strutted around flaunting the badge of "secularism" have switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which they once described as "the party which practises politics of hate."

After Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad, another Gandhi loyalist, RPN Singh quit the Congress to join the BJP. Singh's shifting allegiance apparently was being viewed as a personal jolt to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi. Incidentally, RPN Singh's name also featured in the Congress' star campaigner list released 48 hours back.

If RPN's entry came as a major boost for the BJP, it has put a huge question mark on the style of functioning within the Congress. There are whispers and murmurs in the Congress corridor that the clan-Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka was "not letting the Gen-next grow in the party." All eyes are now on Rajasthan Congress leader, Sachin Pilot.

Read More

BJP Candidates List West Bengal: BJP releases another list, Swapan Das Gupta, Babul Supriyo among contestants

BJP Candidates List West Bengal: BJP releases another list, Swapan Das Gupta, Babul Supriyo among contestants

The BJP has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Das Gupta from Tarakeswar Assembly seat. West Bengal Election 2021 BJP Candidate List: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released the names of 27 candidates for third phase and 38 candidates for fourth phase of polls in West Bengal. Announcing the names, BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh today said that noted economist Ashok Lahiri will…

View On WordPress

Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal Opinion By Rajat Sharma, India TV

Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal Opinion By Rajat Sharma, India TV

The drumbeats for West Bengal assembly elections have begun with Mamata Banerjee releasing her list of all 291 Trinamool candidates on Friday. She left three seats in the Darjeeling region for both the factions of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, her new ally. The Trinamool supremo has taken up the BJP’s challenge thrown at her to contest from Nandigram only. A battle royale is going to take place between…

View On WordPress

Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal

Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal

Image Source : INDIA TV Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal The drumbeats for West Bengal assembly elections have begun with Mamata Banerjee releasing her list of all 291 Trinamool candidates on Friday. She left three seats in the Darjeeling region for both the factions of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, her new ally. The Trinamool supremo has taken up the BJP’s…

View On WordPress

Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal

Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal

Image Source : INDIA TV Opinion | Why Mamata is confident of scoring another victory in Bengal The drumbeats for West Bengal assembly elections have begun with Mamata Banerjee releasing her list of all 291 Trinamool candidates on Friday. She left three seats in the Darjeeling region for both the factions of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, her new ally. The Trinamool supremo has taken up the BJP’s…

View On WordPress

A medic collects samples from a person with physical disability for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing amid the complete bi-weekly lockdown to curb COVID-19 spread Coronavirus update: India has recorded 64,553 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 2,461,542. With over 1,000 fatalities reported on Thursday, the country's death toll surged to 48,144. India, the third-most-affected country by total cases and fourth by death toll, has added 434,116 cases in the past 7 days alone.

The five most affected Indian states by total tally of cases are Maharashtra (560,126), Tamil Nadu (320,355), Andhra Pradesh (264,142), Karnataka (203,200), and Delhi (1,49,460). Coronavirus tally in West Bengal has crossed the 100,000-mark with 2,931 new infections. Mumbai, India's financial capital, now has more Covid cases than Canada. Meanwhile, with 140,775 corona cases, Uttar Pradesh is catching up with Delhi, which at present is the fifth-worst-hit state in India. Coronavirus world update: As many as 21,068,695 people around the world have been diagnosed with Covid-19. While more than 13,742,803 have recovered, 757,444 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country by total cases, now has 5,380,358 cases. It is followed by Brazil, which has 3,229,621.

Stay tuned for all coronavirus LIVE updates. CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES Auto Refresh 04:10 PM Nearly 350 Covid-19 patients in Assam died due to comorbidities: Minister Around 500 Covid-19 patients have died in Assam, including 300-350 due to comorbidities, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

Deaths caused by other ailments are not included in the list of Covid-19 fatalities as per central government guidelines, he said.

"There is another long list of 300-350 Covid-19 patients, who have died due to cancer, kidney failure, heart disease or other comorbidities," Sarma told a gathering here at a plasma donation camp organised by the BJP.

03:58 PM Early spread of Covid-19 far greater than initially reported: Study There were thousands of undetected early cases of Covid-19 at the beginning of this year, according to a study which found that the disease was far more widespread in Wuhan, China, and Seattle in the US weeks ahead of lockdown measures in each city.

Researchers from The University of Texas (UT) at Austin in the US also concluded that the first case of Covid-19 in Seattle may have arrived as far back as Christmas or New Year's Day.

The study, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, also found that about a third of the estimated undiagnosed cases in the US were among children.

03:45 PM Early spread of Covid-19 far greater than initially reported: Study There were thousands of undetected early cases of Covid-19 at the beginning of this year, according to a study which found that the disease was far more widespread in Wuhan, China, and Seattle in the US weeks ahead of lockdown measures in each city.

Researchers from The University of Texas (UT) at Austin in the US also concluded that the first case of Covid-19 in Seattle may have arrived as far back as Christmas or New Year's Day.

The study, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, also found that about a third of the estimated undiagnosed cases in the US were among children.

03:24 PM Singapore reports 83 new Covid-19 cases Singapore reported 83 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, including four imported cases, taking the country's tally to 55,580, according to the health ministry.

The four imported cases have been placed under Stay-Home Notice (SHN) on arrival here. There was no case from the community for the first time since June 1, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

A vast majority of the new infections are work permit holders currently under quarantine, the ministry said in its preliminary daily update.

03:13 PM Tamil Nadu CM flags off LED vehicles for Covid-19 awareness Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Friday flagged off LED screen mounted vehicles to broadcast short films and launched a drive to distribute pamphlets, both initiatives to create awareness on coronavirusamong the people here.

Continuing with several ongoing initiatives to fight against Covid-19, Palaniswami inaugurated the awareness campaign by 30 small size cargo vans with big screens, an initiative of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

Two vehicles would be deployed in each of the 15 zones of the city, a government release said.

03:05 PM Wife of Covid-19 victim to get Rs 50 lakh insurance amount The Maharashtra government will provide Rs 50 lakh insurance cover amount to the wife of a rural development officer from Parbhani district after he contracted Covid-19 while on duty and later died of it, a government resolution (GR) has said.

The state government had last month decided to provide such cover till September-end to its staffers/workers at gram panchayat and zilla parishad levels who are engaged in containing the coronavirus spread.

02:54 PM Goa: 'Highly critical' Covid-19 patients to be treated at GMCH The Goa government on Friday announced the restructuring of its Covid-19 treatment facilities by offering three wards at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for "highly critical" patients.

The other two designated treatment facilities, ESI Hospital in Margao (South Goa) and Sub District Hospital in Ponda (North Goa), will treat asymptomatic patients or those with moderate symptoms, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

Speaking to reporters, Rane also said that the first two Covid-19 patients who underwent plasma therapy have tested negative for the infection.

02:43 PM Altogether 224 inmates of Bihar jail test positive for Covid-19 Altogether 224 inmates of overcrowded district jail here have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last few days, sending the authorities into a tizzy, officials said on Friday.

According to Civil Surgeon, Araria, M P Singh, a total of 224 inmates have tested positive.

Reports of 182 had come out on Wednesday night, a day after 42 others were found infected.

This has triggered panic at the jailed premises which is bursting at the seams.

02:28 PM Kerala likely to witness 10,000 to 20,000 cases per day during Aug-Sept: Health Min Kerala is likely to witness a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the months of August and September with daily infections expected to touch between 10,000 to 20,000, State Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

"Experts have opined that during the months of August and September we may witness a surge in Covid-19 cases. We may report between 10,000 to 20,000 cases per day," she said in a video campaign urging the youth to join the "Covid Brigade" to halt the pandemic spread.

Noting that the death rate graph will start rising if the positive cases shoot up, the Minister said it should be stopped.

"We must also understand that the death toll will increase with the rise in the number of cases. So, we need to put a hold on the rise in cases. For that the people must cooperate.

They should strictly follow the health protocol of wearing masks, handwashing and social distancing in order to break the chain of virus from spreading," Shailaja said.

02:18 PM Not in favour of Commission to probe Centre's management of Covid pandemic: SC The Supreme Court on Friday noted that it is not in favour of appointing an independent commission for an inquiry into the Central government's alleged gross mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said that it is not in favour of appointing a commission for inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, but did not pass any order and adjourned the matter.

The bench said that there is a worldwide view that judiciary should not interfere with executive decision in an emergency situation like Covid-19 pandemic.

The dual injustices of the Aarogya Setu Application

The following is a piece by editor Radha Raheja

The Government of India launched its official Covid-19 awareness and contact tracing app “Aarogya Setu” on 2 April 2020, during the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Three days later, it became one of the most popular apps in India with 5 million downloads.1 13 days after its launch, it was the fastest growing web app in history, with more than 50 million downloads.2

And yet- on June 11, 2020, India surpassed the UK to rank 4th in the list of countries with highest Covid-19 cases.3

Let’s start by asking- what’s in a name? “Aarogya Setu” literally translates to “the bridge for liberation from disease”. And when you open the app, it does seem fully equipped for the task: real time case records, social distancing advisories, details of Covid-19 testing labs, and not to mention, the much debated ‘contact tracing’- you name it, the app has it. But as I distance myself from the user experience and just begin to consider, as a spectator, the controversy it has caused and the incongruities within Aarogya Setu itself, it’s clear to me that the app makes for quite the rickety bridge.

We’ve all heard about the privacy argument. There are memes about it, Rahul Gandhi tweets about it. Recently, things got to the point where the government actually listened to activists- albeit cybersecurity activists- and released the source code for the app on GitHub (more on that later). But what does this really mean? When we say that the app is unsafe, what’s really at stake?

Here’s a fairly uncomplicated rundown- Robert Baptiste, a French ethical hacker, tweeted at the GOI that the app has security concerns. Unsurprisingly, he was thanked but dismissed.4 Then, to prove his point, Baptiste actually hacked into the app, and released details of how many people had contracted Covid-19 at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Indian Parliament. And this, believe it or not, was still a tame retaliation- Baptiste stated that hackers could find out the details who is infected, unwell, or has self-assessed using the app in any area- essentially putting not only the user’s location, but also information about their health (which the app requires you to enlist) at risk.

This finally prompted the government to release the source code of the Android version of the app to the public on 27 May- meaning that anyone can access the inner workings (codes) of the app to see what it does. However, only the client-side code of the app has been made public while the server-side still remains a cause for suspicion. This is because it remains unknown, for example, how much of our data the app actually uses- according to MIT, it is more than what is necessary to fulfil the app’s purpose.5

Another perplexing issue which has highlighted the government’s adversity to transparency is that the public source code of the app is actually stored in a different repository from the actual source code- in non-tech speak, this means that source code the government released doesn’t actually belong to the Aarogya Setu app- they basically copied a similar code and released it for the public to analyse. In essence, civilians don’t truly know how the app works at all, and the government’s half-baked response to calls for transparency is a surprise to no one.

Moving on to the next issue, which doesn’t receive as much coverage- Aarogya Setu is not used by enough people in the country to be an effective contact-tracing tool. According to estimates made by the University of Oxford,6 60% of the population in any given area would need to use a contact-tracing app for it to actually contain the virus. This is far from the case in India, where currently only 9% of the population uses Aarogya Setu. Even if every smartphone user in the country downloaded the app, the user percentage would only rise to 36% of the total population. The other 64% simply does not own a smartphone, and is therefore unable to avail benefits the app offers.

This is perhaps a reflection of the wider state of economic inequalities in India- especially as the country enters “Unlock” phases. Use of the app has been mandated by the state for government employees as they return to work and private companies are following suit. But what about gardeners who can’t tend to university campuses because they cannot use Aarogya Setu? What about shop workers in the densely populated Chandni Chowk, where social distancing is nearly impossible? What about farmers and construction labourers- essential for the economy and unable to work from home- who don’t have smartphones to download Aarogya Setu?

If we deem the app to be fundamental in a post-lockdown world, what are we saying to those who have no means to download it?

To conclude, a word on the app itself- it opens to a video of Amitabh Bachchan encouraging us to “break the stigma”. Akshay Kumar dons traditional rural attire and demeanour to tell people to get to work and reassures them of government’s efforts. Virat Kohli, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, and Anil Kapoor speak of the benefits of yoga, and several videos focus on Atmanirbharta or self-reliance, as well as the use of Ayurveda to develop immunity against Covid-19 (yes, this is on an app released by the government). And of course, quotes and speeches by PM Modi are present all across the interface.

The more I think about it, the more it seems that the app is a mirror image of the state’s position within India and its relation to the people- celebrities posing as spokespeople for the government, BJP IT Cell-esque information rampant on a civil platform, our One True Leader and his words splashed across every page. This is the face of our state. Behind it, real concerns and problems ferment and duly fade, quashed or ignored.

Who knew that a contact-tracing app could be so much more?

References

1 & 2 Wikipedia, “Aarogya Setu” (Wikipedia.com) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarogya_Setu> Accessed on 15 June 2020.

3 The Deccan Herald, “Coronavirus Worldometer” (DeccanHerald.com) <https://deccanherald.com> Accessed on 15 June, 2020.

4 Wikipedia, “Aarogya Setu” (Wikipedia.com) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarogya_Setu> Accessed on 15 June, 2020.

5 Neerad Pandharipande “Aarogya Setu not open-source in real sense” (Firstpost.com)

<https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/aarogya-setu-not-open-source-in-real-sense-claim-cybersecurity-activists-say-server-code-must-be-made-public-8480011.html>

Accessed on 15 June, 2020.

6.  Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Natasha Singer and Aaron Krolik “A Scramble for Virus Apps That Do No Harm” (The New York Times) < https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/business/coronavirus-cellphone-apps-contact-tracing.html?referringSource=articleShare >

Accessed on 9 June, 2020.

Jaishankar’s post on Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel kicks up Twitter slugfest - india news

Foreign minister S Jaishankar found himself in the middle of a tweet-storm over a claim in a book he released that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru initially didn’t want to include Sardar Patel in the country’s first cabinet.Jaishankar, who launched the book “VP Menon, the unsung architect of modern India” here on Wednesday, tweeted that he “learnt from the book that Nehru did not want Patel in the Cabinet in 1947 and omitted him from the initial Cabinet list. Clearly, a subject for much debate. Noted that the author stood her ground on this revelation.”Historian Ramachandra Guha was quick to respond. “This is a myth, that has been comprehensively demolished by Professor Srinath Raghavan in The Print. Besides, promoting fake news about, and false rivalries between, the builders of modern India is not the job of the Foreign Minister. He should leave this to the BJP’s IT Cell,” Guha said, also in a tweet.The debate spiralled from there with Jaishankar holding his ground. “Some Foreign Ministers do read books. May be a good habit for some Professors too. In that case, strongly recommend the one I released yesterday,” he tweeted.  Learnt from the book that Nehru did not want Patel in the Cabinet in 1947 and omitted him from the initial Cabinet list. Clearly, a subject for much debate. Noted that the author stood her ground on this revelation. pic.twitter.com/FelAMUZxFL— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 12, 2020  Some Foreign Ministers do read books. May be a good habit for some Professors too. In that case, strongly recommend the one I released yesterday. https://t.co/d2Iq4jafsR— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 13, 2020 The book’s author, historian and foreign policy analyst Narayani Basu (Menon was her great-grandfather) wrote that according to “both Menon and Vidya Shankar (Patel’s private secretary), Nehru’s original list (of ministers) excluded Patel altogether.” In the chapter titled “Omission”, Basu also said that India’s last viceroy Lord Mountbatten had to intervene to include Patel in the cabinet. She also quoted what Mountbatten told British journalist Harry Hodson to drive home her point. But Basu also said that Mountbatten, who was otherwise meticulous with records, didn’t record his conversations with Nehru on this issue anywhere.The Nehru-Patel rivalry has been played up by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has sought to claim the legacy of India’s first home minister, a member of the Congress. It even built a large statue in his honour, the Statue of Unity, in Gujarat. In response to Jaishankar’s tweet, former union minister Jairam Ramesh tweeted a series of letters and said: “In light of the fake news doing the rounds that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru did not want Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in his cabinet, sharing a series of letters & documents.” He said “the truth was Nehru’s letter to Mountbatten of July 19, 1947 had Patel’s name right on top of new cabinet list.”Taking a dig at Jaishankar, Ramesh tweeted, “Problem with this very accomplished and erudite foreign minister is that he wishes to forget the books he read before becoming Foreign Secretary in Jan 2015. Do refresh your memory...” The papers posted by Ramesh also showed that Nehru kept his own name at the end of the list. Ramesh posted two letters from Nehru to Patel to underline the friendship between India’s first PM and his home minister. In one letter, Nehru informed Patel that he had convinced BR Amebdkar to be the law minister of the country and asked him to “approach Shyama Prasad (Mukherjee), Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari) and Shanmukham (Ramasamy CK Shanmukham Chetty).”In another letter, Nehru formally invited Patel to the cabinet saying, “As formalities have to be observed to some extent, I am writing to invite you to join the new cabinet. This writing is somewhat superfluous as you are the strongest pillar of the cabinet.”Another former minister Shashi Tharror also entered the debate and tweeted: “Jai, I have the highest regard for VP Menon, a hero of Indian Independence from my state, but human recollections can be wrong. Read this carefully documented refutation of the “Patel’s omission from Cabinet” story (for which VPM was the only source).” he pointed to an article in The Print that said the narrative of Nehru omitting patel from the cabinet initially was false. In a statement, Basu said: “Everything is in the public domain. Historical interpretation remains subjective. However, while it is important to have some debate/disagreement around a subject, it is now seventy years after the fact. Frankly, this is not the core of my book. Nor was it the core of VP Menon’s life. He made contributions to the history of this country that deserve to be highlighted, and not sidetracked.”“I wrote this biography to illuminate a man who has been overshadowed by history, and not to have this book caught in the crosshairs of a political bushfire,” she added. Read the full article