National

Deep Throat

A regular column on the essential buzz

Advertisement

Deep Throat
info_icon

District Of Last Resort

Veteran Congress leader Soumen Mitra has reportedly told his supporters in north Bengal that he wants to see Siliguri carved out as a separate district. What is not clear is how such a move would help the ailing Congress. But Mitra, it seems, is adamant. “If Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar can be separate districts, why not Siliguri, which is an important commercial and trading hub?” he is said to have asked. Siliguri is part of Darjeeling district, which is represented by one of the two BJP MPs in West Bengal. Perhaps Mitra thinks that if Siliguri is a separate district, the Congress would have greater control over it.

Advertisement

Going Beyond Recognition

Chhattisgarh’s B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital has crossed an exceptional milestone by setting up an exclusive clinic for transgenders in the state. The hospital will now cater to people from the third gender as well, many of whom are still denied the rights that come naturally to the other genders. Besides attending to routine health issues, the clinic will also perform gender-­reconstruction surgeries on demand. Although the initial prod came from the Supreme Court, following a petition, the state government deserves kudos for proactively responding to the need for institutionalising healthcare for trans-people. After the legal recognition of the third gender, this was a much-needed affirmation of gender rights.

Advertisement

Eating Their Words

The assembly election results, Uttar Pradesh in particular, have brought about a turnaround in the attitude of the national capital’s political pundits towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. From dismissing the party ruling the Centre as rabidly right-wing, they can now be heard singing a more pliant tune—a source of much amusement for many BJP leaders and supporters. They say the New Delhi elite have finally been forced to acknowledge that “outsiders” Modi and Amit Shah perhaps know the ground realities of India better than those sitting in the national capital and ­voicing opinions.

Overheard It’s but a few days since AAP drew a blank in Goa and won barely 20 seats in Punjab, and its MLAs in Delhi have already started looking elsewhere. It could soon be gala time for ‘poachers’.

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement