Express News Service
Political CrossfireMahua-Nishikant public spat may get uglier
Firebrand Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s social media battle is refusing to end. The two leaders have been engaged in a public exchange of insults for the last few weeks. Angry over Dubey’s constant sniping at her and her party, Mahua tweeted “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. And people who have fake degrees and have lied on affidavits should definitely not throw the rule book.”
Along with the tweet, she posted Dubey’s two affidavits submitted before returning officers along with his nomination paper for the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “Hon’ble member in his 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha affidavits claimed to be a ‘part-time MBA from Delhi University’…” Mahua tweeted, and then added in another tweet “on 27.08.2020 Delhi University in a written reply clearly stated that no such with the name of the honourable member was either admitted or passed out from any MBA programme in DU in the year 1993 as claimed in affidavits…” Along with this tweet, she attached a letter dated 28.07.2020 from the Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) of Delhi University (DU) stating that no person with the name Nishikant Dubey was admitted or passed out from FMS of the DU.
She then went on to ask the Lok Sabha Speaker on Twitter whether “lying on affidavit and faking an MBA degree from DU’s FMS… are grounds for termination of Lok Sabha membership.” This was followed by nasty WhatsApp messages widely circulated in Lutyens Delhi attacking a “firebrand woman MP.” The anonymous messages contained wild allegations and sleazy stories about the woman MP. After the Whatsapp messages surfaced, Mahua tweeted “Farji degree holders do not make great WhatsApp fake letter writers. Nor do their Me-Too mates. Maa Kali always rules.”
Dubey responded to the attack by tweeting a request to his supporters not to respond to a “woman MP from West Bengal having a perverted mentality” because “in our religion, even the nagar vadhu of Vaishali was given respect”. This led to a huge outrage against Dubey with a large number of prominent women, including Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, taking exception to Dubey’s tweet. Sources said a new 48-page file has now emerged, which has explosive details about one of the two squabbling MPs. The fight between the two is far from over. Keep watching this space for more on this.
Battle for DelhiKanhaiya Kumar to play pivotal role in Congress
The Congress is planning to deploy a large number of young leaders in key positions to lead its campaign against the ruling BJP. Sources said former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Kanhaiya Kumar is set to be appointed either as the president of the Indian Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Congress, or the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. According to sources, the party has not been impressed with the performance of DPCC chief Anil Choudhary, who may be on his way out. Kanhaiya’s name is being discussed as the party feels he could attract Delhi’s large population from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The BJP, too, had experimented with a ‘Purabiya’ (easterner) leader by appointing Manoj Tiwari as its Delhi unit president. The Aam Aadmi Party also has a large number of Purabiya leaders namely Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, etc. Though the most successful Congress leader in Delhi – Sheila Dikshit – had a UP connection, the party has not given its reins in the hands of a true blue Purabiya and has instead favoured a Jat, Punjabi, Vaish or a Gujar as its state unit chief. This is now set to change, sources said.
Political Crossfire
Mahua-Nishikant public spat may get uglier
Firebrand Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s social media battle is refusing to end. The two leaders have been engaged in a public exchange of insults for the last few weeks. Angry over Dubey’s constant sniping at her and her party, Mahua tweeted “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. And people who have fake degrees and have lied on affidavits should definitely not throw the rule book.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Along with the tweet, she posted Dubey’s two affidavits submitted before returning officers along with his nomination paper for the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “Hon’ble member in his 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha affidavits claimed to be a ‘part-time MBA from Delhi University’…” Mahua tweeted, and then added in another tweet “on 27.08.2020 Delhi University in a written reply clearly stated that no such with the name of the honourable member was either admitted or passed out from any MBA programme in DU in the year 1993 as claimed in affidavits…” Along with this tweet, she attached a letter dated 28.07.2020 from the Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) of Delhi University (DU) stating that no person with the name Nishikant Dubey was admitted or passed out from FMS of the DU.
She then went on to ask the Lok Sabha Speaker on Twitter whether “lying on affidavit and faking an MBA degree from DU’s FMS… are grounds for termination of Lok Sabha membership.” This was followed by nasty WhatsApp messages widely circulated in Lutyens Delhi attacking a “firebrand woman MP.” The anonymous messages contained wild allegations and sleazy stories about the woman MP. After the Whatsapp messages surfaced, Mahua tweeted “Farji degree holders do not make great WhatsApp fake letter writers. Nor do their Me-Too mates. Maa Kali always rules.”
Dubey responded to the attack by tweeting a request to his supporters not to respond to a “woman MP from West Bengal having a perverted mentality” because “in our religion, even the nagar vadhu of Vaishali was given respect”. This led to a huge outrage against Dubey with a large number of prominent women, including Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, taking exception to Dubey’s tweet. Sources said a new 48-page file has now emerged, which has explosive details about one of the two squabbling MPs. The fight between the two is far from over. Keep watching this space for more on this.
Battle for Delhi
Kanhaiya Kumar to play pivotal role in Congress
The Congress is planning to deploy a large number of young leaders in key positions to lead its campaign against the ruling BJP. Sources said former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Kanhaiya Kumar is set to be appointed either as the president of the Indian Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Congress, or the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. According to sources, the party has not been impressed with the performance of DPCC chief Anil Choudhary, who may be on his way out. Kanhaiya’s name is being discussed as the party feels he could attract Delhi’s large population from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The BJP, too, had experimented with a ‘Purabiya’ (easterner) leader by appointing Manoj Tiwari as its Delhi unit president. The Aam Aadmi Party also has a large number of Purabiya leaders namely Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, etc. Though the most successful Congress leader in Delhi – Sheila Dikshit – had a UP connection, the party has not given its reins in the hands of a true blue Purabiya and has instead favoured a Jat, Punjabi, Vaish or a Gujar as its state unit chief. This is now set to change, sources said.
