Government fighting for blue tick, be self-reliant for vaccine: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at the Centre, saying the Modi government is fighting for a blue tick and people need to become self-reliant for getting Covid vaccines.
His remarks came a day after outrage over the removal of 'blue tick' badge from the personal accounts of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and RSS top functionaries including Mohan Bhagwat, by Twitter, only to restore it later.
Twitter said as per rules, the blue badge and verified status could be automatically removed from an account if it is incomplete or inactive for six months.
"The Modi government is fighting for the blue tick. If you want a Covid vaccine, then be self-reliant," he said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag "#Priorities".
In another tweet, he talked about stopping language discrimination after a Delhi government hospital asked nurses not to converse in Malayalam. The hospital order has been revoked.
"Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination," he said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the concern and posted the order of the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research warning the nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication, else serious action will be taken.
"This order is a violation of the basic values of our country. It is racist, discriminatory and utterly wrong," she said in a tweet in Malayali, saying Malayali nurses are risking their lives in Covid times to save people.
"This order is also an insult. We owe them a debt of gratitude and respect. It should be withdrawn as soon as possible and an apology should be published," she demanded.
In another tweet, Vadra alleged that the Modi government reduced oxygen beds by 36 percent, ICU beds by 46 percent, ventilator beds by 28 percent between September 2020 and January 2021.
"Is the health of Indian citizens less important than the Central Vista project," she asked, alleging that the government has declared the project as an essential service with people working day and night to complete it by 2023.
"When every expert in the country, the Parliamentary Committee on Health and their own Sero-surveys warned them that additional beds would be needed for an inevitable second wave," she said as part of her "ZimmedarKaun" (Who is responsible) campaign.
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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.
