Narendra Modi to skip Kejriwal’s swearing in ceremony
February 13, 2015
It is all about statecraft when two state heads meet. In ordinary circumstances, the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, the new Chief Minister of Delhi, could have been seen in this light. But it cannot be. After all, wasn’t it the very first meeting between the vanquished and the victor (in that order)?
Remember a defeated Porus who demanded Alexander the great to treat him like a king – “Treat me, O Alexander, like a king”.
But don’t get bluffed. Modi, although made to bite the dust in the David versus Goliath clash against Kejriwal in the battle for Delhi, still remains the ‘king’.
Being the Prime Minister – and still a popular one – he deserves respect worthy of a PM. And Kejriwal can ignore him only at his own peril. So the latter needed to and he paid a courtesy visit to the PM.
But call it irony of fate! Consider how Kejriwal was trolling the then Gujarat chief minister Modi in Gandhinagar to have a tete-a-tete on the much touted ‘Gujarat Model’ of good governance before last year’s general elections?
Modi –then the BJP’s PM face – had proved elusive for him. After all, where was the need for Modi to meet a much taunted “bhagora” who had unceremoniously relinquished his Delhi CM’s chair? Indeed, Kejriwal did need to prove his worth again to get an appointment from a deified Modi! (Remember Modi’s fans have now even made a temple for him?)
Both leaders need to ensure they do not eat up each other’s space
Life has come full circle. ‘Gujarat model’ is passé as Kejriwal now sells his own ‘Delhi model’ to the PM. His brute strength in Delhi assembly matches Modi’s very own in the national Parliament.
What could be more ironical than the fact that both – the David (Kejriwal) and the Goliath (Modi) – share the same city as their respective seats of power? Both need to ensure that they don’t eat up each other’s space while jostling for power. (After all, like Modi, Kejriwal too is highly ambitious and he had proved this by contesting 432 Lok Sabha seats in the last election).
Mark the word ‘Space’. No one yields space in cutthroat politics. Remember how after branding Kejriwal as an ‘anarchist’, Modi had publicly advised the former to join the naxals in the jungle?
So what does it imply if Modi refuses to share space with Kejriwal at Ramlila Ground during the latter’s anointment as Delhi’s chief minister on 14 February? The official explanation is that the Prime Minister had a pre-scheduled engagement in Maharashtra. Fair enough. After all, prime ministers do have pressing engagements decided months in advance. Besides, wasn’t the India-Pakistan World Cup match the considering factor, rather than the PM’s availability, for deciding on the day of Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony?
At best, Kejriwal’s invitation to the PM was nothing more than a formality. Yet, he did score a point by personally extending the invitation to the prime minister for the R-Ground extravaganza. Wasn’t it a gentle rebuke to the PM for not inviting Kejriwal to the R-Day parade on 26 January in spite of the fact that he was a former CM of Delhi then?
Symbolism does work in politics. Consider that this will be the first swearing-in ceremony of any chief minister where Modi will not be present after he became the Prime Minister. Also consider that this will be the swearing-in of the first non-Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister during Modi’s nine-month-old regime at the Centre.
Already Modi, who launched a scathing personal attack on Kejriwal during the Delhi assembly election, is being criticised by his detractors for providing much political space to the Aam Aadmi Party leader. So why should he repeat the mistake by sharing space with his bête noire at the Ramlila Ground and that too on St. Valentine’s Day? After all, there’s no love lost between the two!
February 13, 2015
It is all about statecraft when two state heads meet. In ordinary circumstances, the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, the new Chief Minister of Delhi, could have been seen in this light. But it cannot be. After all, wasn’t it the very first meeting between the vanquished and the victor (in that order)?
Remember a defeated Porus who demanded Alexander the great to treat him like a king – “Treat me, O Alexander, like a king”.
But don’t get bluffed. Modi, although made to bite the dust in the David versus Goliath clash against Kejriwal in the battle for Delhi, still remains the ‘king’.
Being the Prime Minister – and still a popular one – he deserves respect worthy of a PM. And Kejriwal can ignore him only at his own peril. So the latter needed to and he paid a courtesy visit to the PM.
But call it irony of fate! Consider how Kejriwal was trolling the then Gujarat chief minister Modi in Gandhinagar to have a tete-a-tete on the much touted ‘Gujarat Model’ of good governance before last year’s general elections?
Modi –then the BJP’s PM face – had proved elusive for him. After all, where was the need for Modi to meet a much taunted “bhagora” who had unceremoniously relinquished his Delhi CM’s chair? Indeed, Kejriwal did need to prove his worth again to get an appointment from a deified Modi! (Remember Modi’s fans have now even made a temple for him?)
Both leaders need to ensure they do not eat up each other’s space
Life has come full circle. ‘Gujarat model’ is passé as Kejriwal now sells his own ‘Delhi model’ to the PM. His brute strength in Delhi assembly matches Modi’s very own in the national Parliament.
What could be more ironical than the fact that both – the David (Kejriwal) and the Goliath (Modi) – share the same city as their respective seats of power? Both need to ensure that they don’t eat up each other’s space while jostling for power. (After all, like Modi, Kejriwal too is highly ambitious and he had proved this by contesting 432 Lok Sabha seats in the last election).
Mark the word ‘Space’. No one yields space in cutthroat politics. Remember how after branding Kejriwal as an ‘anarchist’, Modi had publicly advised the former to join the naxals in the jungle?
So what does it imply if Modi refuses to share space with Kejriwal at Ramlila Ground during the latter’s anointment as Delhi’s chief minister on 14 February? The official explanation is that the Prime Minister had a pre-scheduled engagement in Maharashtra. Fair enough. After all, prime ministers do have pressing engagements decided months in advance. Besides, wasn’t the India-Pakistan World Cup match the considering factor, rather than the PM’s availability, for deciding on the day of Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony?
At best, Kejriwal’s invitation to the PM was nothing more than a formality. Yet, he did score a point by personally extending the invitation to the prime minister for the R-Ground extravaganza. Wasn’t it a gentle rebuke to the PM for not inviting Kejriwal to the R-Day parade on 26 January in spite of the fact that he was a former CM of Delhi then?
Symbolism does work in politics. Consider that this will be the first swearing-in ceremony of any chief minister where Modi will not be present after he became the Prime Minister. Also consider that this will be the swearing-in of the first non-Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister during Modi’s nine-month-old regime at the Centre.
Already Modi, who launched a scathing personal attack on Kejriwal during the Delhi assembly election, is being criticised by his detractors for providing much political space to the Aam Aadmi Party leader. So why should he repeat the mistake by sharing space with his bête noire at the Ramlila Ground and that too on St. Valentine’s Day? After all, there’s no love lost between the two!
Modi to share space with Sharad Pawar on 14 February
Yet, what is interesting is that on 14 February, Modi has rather preferred to share space with yet another political heavyweight, Sharad Pawar.
There is no point reminding that how Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party had offered unconditional external support to the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra – till a sulking Shiv Sena discarded the role of opposition party and joined the government a month later.
Of late, Pawar had opposed the state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s proposal to set up a high-level committee headed by Modi to oversee the development of Mumbai.
So will Modi and Pawar exchange roses on Valentine’s Day? The question assumes significance in the wake of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s continued bitter criticism of Modi and his jibe at the AAP’s triumph in Delhi.
What is interesting is Uddhav’s statement that he did want to share space with Kejriwal if invited to the R-Ground function on V-day
Yet, what is interesting is that on 14 February, Modi has rather preferred to share space with yet another political heavyweight, Sharad Pawar.
There is no point reminding that how Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party had offered unconditional external support to the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra – till a sulking Shiv Sena discarded the role of opposition party and joined the government a month later.
Of late, Pawar had opposed the state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s proposal to set up a high-level committee headed by Modi to oversee the development of Mumbai.
So will Modi and Pawar exchange roses on Valentine’s Day? The question assumes significance in the wake of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s continued bitter criticism of Modi and his jibe at the AAP’s triumph in Delhi.
What is interesting is Uddhav’s statement that he did want to share space with Kejriwal if invited to the R-Ground function on V-day
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