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Most, save Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu, were silent on Bihar polls; it was business as usual for the PM. Nivedita Mookerji reports
A day after the National Democratic Alliance's defeat in Bihar elections, most ministers at the Centre remained mostly silent on social media, a medium which they use generously to communicate their thoughts. But, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had led the Bihar poll campaign for the NDA, went about his business as on a normal day.
The PM’s first public outing after the poll debacle was on Monday morning to attend a function on the Legal Services Day and Commendation Ceremony.
Apart from the political stock-taking meetings, Modi chaired a meeting on infrastructure, looking at various sectors and their progress. There was no mention of Bihar through the day in his many tweets or statements at various events.
‘’I believe in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and with that there must be Sabka Nyay,’’ Modi said at the Legal Services Day function, referring to justice for all.
Ahead of his visit to the United Kingdom, he shared on social networks his signed piece -- India's bond with Britain is helping both nations -- published in The Sunday Times. The PM also tweeted his condolence for former Air Chief O P Mehra, who passed away on Monday. His last public word on Bihar was his congratulatory message to Nitish Kumar.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was the one seen doing damage control for the party. Through numerous media interviews, he tried explaining the unexpected result. Jaitley’s most trending statement was, however, on arithmetic versus chemistry. "When three parties come together, arithmetic suits them. We had thought development agenda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impact will create new chemistry that will ride over arithmetic, as in Lok Sabha polls, but that didn’t happen." Jaitley’s Twitter handle was quiet though on Monday.
Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, among the seasoned colleagues of Modi, announced the winter session dates on Monday. Naidu’s was among the few voices on Bihar on Monday from the NDA, other than Jaitley's. "Bihar verdict is a clear statement of people's aspirations. It should not be interpreted as a mandate to obstruct Parliament," he said. He too remained subdued on Twitter.
Among the big four ministers, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was heard on Monday, but on the controversial One Rank One Pension, and not on Bihar. On the sidelines of an event, Parrikar said everyone has a right to make a demand in democracy but not all demands can be fulfilled. He was speaking in the context of the government offer on OROP being rejected by the veterans.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who stayed off tweets and any public statement on Monday, was in the news for Pakistan inviting her for a regional conference in Islamabad on Afghanistan, scheduled on December 7-8.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh greeted the people of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand on their state Foundation Day, and said little else. Soon after the NDA defeat, he had said the economic package for Bihar was a commitment given by the prime minister ‘’which would be fulfilled by the Centre at all cost’’.
Among those who were busy campaigning in Bihar, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, was all over television channels on Sunday, but was low-key the day after. Prasad tweeted his Dhanteras wishes today. Under attack for the high rate of call drops, perhaps one of the factors for NDA’s poor show in Bihar, had said on Monday that the controversial remark on caste reservation by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, which was later withdrawn, and the beef issue had no impact on election result. He however admitted it was a big defeat.
Of the others put on Bihar campaign, food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan remained quiet all through the day. Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh too stayed away from any public statements. Both Paswan and Singh have drawn flak for high prices of pulse, a strong election issue.
Another key minister, who was out on Bihar campaign, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, minister for skill development, chose to retweet PM’s tweets on infrastructure sector after the high-level meeting today.
"Various ministries are undertaking commendable skill development initiatives. This will benefit the youngsters immensely," and "glad to share that all infrastructure targets for current financial year are broadly on track to be achieved," were among the gung-ho tweets post that infra meeting.
