BJP sends show cause to Kirodi Meena over his phone-tapping allegation
Jaipur, Feb 10 (PTI): The BJP's Rajasthan unit president Madan Rathore has sent a show cause to Cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena for "tarnishing" the state government's reputation by alleging in a public meeting recently that his phone was being tapped, party leaders said on Monday.
Meena, however, claimed ignorance about it and while asserting that he was a "disciplined soldier" of the party said he would send his reply within the stipulated time once he received the notice.
After Meena made the phone-tapping claim, the opposition Congress had raised the issue in the Rajasthan Assembly, causing embarrassment to the BJP government.
The Congress had demanded Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma's resignation over the allegation and Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully did not even give a speech on the Governor's address in protest. Congress MLAs kept raising slogans during the chief minister's speech.
In the show cause notice, the BJP said Meena's statement tarnished the government's reputation.
"You are a member of the BJP and have been elected MLA from Sawai Madhopur region on the party ticket. You are also a minister in the Rajasthan government. Recently, you made available the news of your resignation from the Council of Ministers for publication in the newspaper. You also accused the BJP government of getting phone calls tapped by giving a public statement, which is untrue," the notice states.
It further said, "By giving a statement, you tarnished the reputation of the BJP majority government."
The show cause notice, served under the directions of the party's national president, asked Meena to submit his reply within three days, BJP leaders said.
Meena, however, said, "I am not aware of the show cause notice. I am a disciplined soldier of the party. As soon as I receive the notice, I will send my reply to the party leadership within the stipulated time period."
After the party's below-expectation result in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Meena resigned from his ministerial post. He informed the media about his resignation during a religious programme on July 4 in Jaipur.
Meena had said that he had sent his resignation to the chief minister in June but he did not accept it. Meena continued to deal with departmental files as a minister, but he did not attend cabinet meetings.
Regarding his resignation, the BJP always maintained that he is its senior leader and is working in the government as a minister.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
