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What Makes Centre-State Relations Different In National Capital?

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5 years ago

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What Makes Centre-State Relations Different In National Capital?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that the Centre’s decision to step in and help Delhi government combat the spiraling cases of Covid-19 infection in the national capital is a cooperative exercise rather than one where it has wrested control from the state.

The party’s response has also been in sharp contrast to the political wrangling that erupted in the Opposition-ruled states of West Bengal and Maharashtra over their handling of the pandemic.

A senior party functionary said the two governments are working together to address the situation instead of “trading blame”.

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According to party functionaries, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s statement made a week ago where he said that Covid-19 cases in the city are likely to reach 5.5 lakh by the end of July became the trigger for the central government to step in and steer the state’s response.

“Sisodia’s statement was an indication that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government seemed to have loosened its grip on the situation. When the home minister (Amit Shah) decided to help the state; it was a move where the center stepped in without over-stepping,” said a second person aware of the details.

Since Sunday, Shah has held several rounds of meetings and even inspected a government-run hospital.

The bitterness that erupted between the Centre and the governments of West Bengal and Maharashtra when inter-ministerial central teams were deputed to spot assessment of the situation has been largely missing this time.

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Within hours of the team being announced, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had questioned the Centre’s move. She also targeted Shah, claiming letters meant for the state government was released to the media before they reached the CMO (chief Minister’s Office).

In Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP combine has also blamed the BJP for politicizing the issue. NCP’s Jayant Patil said if the BJP blames the Maharashtra government for the spread of the virus in the state, should the Centre be blamed for the failure to check the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

In contrast, following meetings with Shah, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Extremely productive meeting between Del govt and Central govt. Many key decisions taken. We will fight against corona together.”

Even as BJP state unit in Delhi has trained its guns on the Arvind Kejriwal government for not ramping up testing facilities and medical care infrastructure, the leadership has shown more restrain.

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On Monday, Shah, held another round of meetings, including one with all political party where the representatives reiterated the need to keep political differences aside to fight the pandemic.

So what led the BJP to soften its stand against a political rival? “We have been demanding answers from the AAP government about the spending on medical infrastructure but there has been no response. We opposed the decision of not admitting people from outside Delhi to hospitals here; a decision that was reversed by the LG. It is not that the BJP has abdicated its duties as a responsible Opposition, but the challenge is such that we need to join forces to save lives,” said a Delhi state functionary.

Commenting on the process of the political adversaries sitting across the table in Delhi to find a solution, Ajay Gudavarthy, professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University said, “Modi-Shah working modality is geared towards election management. Bengal is due for election while in Delhi it’s over. We saw similar animosity towards Kejriwal before elections in Delhi. They also wish to create a perception that Mamta is aggressive and cannot work with the center and in the process, Bengal is losing out.”

News Source: HIndustanTimes

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Also Read: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput Committed Suicide At His Home In Bandra

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

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1 day ago

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December 21, 2024

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

In conversation with Hindustan Times, Teja Sajja decodes the success of HanuMan and other Telugu films, talks about his upcoming projects, and more.
When Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan, starring Teja Sajja, was announced to be released alongside big films like Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, Venkatesh’s Saindhav and Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga in January this year, no one expected the underdog to emerge on top. And yet, the film, made on a budget of under ₹50 crore, managed to collect over ₹300 crore at the box office worldwide in 25 days, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films for the year. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh met HanuMan actor Teja Sajja, complimented him even after his Prasanth Varma film Rakshas got shelved)

Ask Teja about the moment he realised his film had not just fought against the tide but also risen to the top; he tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive conversation, “Since I returned to acting (as a lead actor after being a child artiste since 1998), this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. When everything from the HanuMan teaser to the songs was grabbing attention, we knew we had hit a gold mine. But I don’t think we imagined it would cross the ₹300 crore threshold. We were so satisfied with the opening numbers; everything else was a bonus.”

‘Success has given me fear of disappointing people’

Teja acted in Zombie Reddy, Ishq and Adbhutham before HanuMan, but they are what you would call ‘critical successes’, adding to his repertoire as an actor who can perform. But things have changed for him now, says Teja, who is being picky about the roles he says yes to. “Success either makes you overconfident or gives you the fear of disappointing people; I have the latter,” he explains.

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Teja admits he wants to chart out his career in Hrithik Roshan’s footsteps, but not in the way you think. “I have such a fondness for Hrithik due to Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. No matter how well he performed after that, these left a lasting impression on me; I’m sure 90s kids will agree,” he says, adding, “Similarly, I’ve realised that I have an audience in children now. I want to be conscious of that when I pick roles. I want to make films families can enjoy together.”

But despite people in places like Mumbai or Delhi recognising him, Teja says he’s clear that he wants to cater to the Telugu audience first. “I am conscious that I am making films for my playground – the Telugu states. This is the sensibility I have grown up with, and I don’t know if I can cater to everyone else. Will I promote my films in other languages? Sure. But I also can’t be part of films that aren’t authentic to what I know or understand,” he explains.

‘Rootedness has put us on the world map’

And authenticity seems to be the need of the hour. Be it Baahubali and RRR or the recently released Pushpa 2: The Rule, Kalki 2898 AD and Devara: Part 1, certain kind of stories seem to be finding success. “Rootedness and going local is proving to be such a boon for us, be it in Devara or Pushpa or HanuMan. Kalki 2898 AD was our version of a Hollywood film (the sci-fi concept) with actors from across languages in predominant roles; it put us on the world map,” reflects Teja.

However, the actor admits Tollywood went through a phase of Bollywood-inspired rom-coms and family dramas that worked in their favour for a while. “That wasn’t easy to replicate either, but it’s just that these local stories are what the audience seems most interested in now. It can’t just be chalked up to religion, too. It’s about the morals these films are hinged on, the fighting for righteousness, and how an underdog can find their strength. Introducing Mahabharata or Ramayana to a new audience in a cool way is just a perk,” he says.

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And it’s this rootedness that Teja says his next films, Mirai and Jai Hanuman (the sequel to HanuMan), will also have ample of. “Mirai is also a superhero film that caters to kids, but it’s not an origin story like HanuMan. It has a pan-Asian and Buddhist touch because the story is based on King Ashoka’s ideologies. I hope that I will get to deliver something new to the audience again. I will only feel like I’ve arrived if Mirai is equally, if not more, successful,” says Teja.

Rishab Shetty will headline Jai Hanuman, but Teja also looks forward to shooting that. “I can’t wait to be on that set; it’ll be exciting. Now that we know India is ready to watch our films, I want to step it up. I want to shift gears and shoot for at least two films in 2025,” he says. As for what he will do next, Teja says he wants to up the ante. “When I got a SIIMA award for Zombie Reddy as a debutant, I remember telling Prasanth this would be the last award I get. But now that I won a Radio City Cine Award for Best Actor, I hope more awards will follow,” he signs off cheekily.

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