Walking among giants
By Shantanu Guha Ray
In the Indian capital, buck-eyed politicians high on their lethal cocktail of power, position and cash consider Smriti Irani, India's new education minister, a loner.
Whether or not our youngest cabinet minister is a graduate is not uppermost on anyone's mind.
What is, is her unfettered access to prime minister Narendra Modi, who at an election rally in Amethi ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, described her as his “younger sister“. He has, reportedly, allowed her unlimited access for quite some time. It's interesting then that Irani went from being Modi's most vocal critic, threatening bhookh hartal in 2004 if he didn't apologise for the riots following Godhra, to openly batting for him during the Advani-Modi power clash.
It is not the first time an actor has made it to Parliament. In fact, the current Parliament has a bevy of them -Hema Malini (Bharatiya Janata Party), Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party), Rekha (Congress), Moonmoon Sen, Shatabdi Roy and Sandhya Roy (Trinamool Congress). But it's their lack of urge to discuss issues of national or international importance, either inside or out side the houses that makes their heavyweight glamour quotient overpower politicking.
But not with Irani.
Finalist at Femina Miss India in 1998, 38-year-old Irani quit a mega-successful career in television that made her India's most obedient daughter-in-law to take up politics. In 2003, although she lost to Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk as BJP candidate, she was anointed VP of the Maharashtra Youth Wing the following year. By the time she quit her show, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Thi in 2007, she was being noticed for her commitment to politics, constant presence in the media and skill to carry through an argument in competitive debate.
After being made national secretary of the party in 2010, she was named president of BJP's Mahila Morcha, a not so powerful body within the party set-up. What it did was allow her constant media minutes as she took stage during showdowns on national television against rival spokespeople.
In August 2011, Irani was sworn in as MP from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha.
It's possibly here that the journey to becoming the PM's `confidant' -an imaginary title that has gained credence ever since she was pitted against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi -began. Her detractors rue that in Lutyens' Delhi, Irani is the only cabinet minister to walk into the PMO without being frisked. They do not say whether a similar facility existed for the Gandhis during Congress rule. This breakneck accent isn't the stuff of good news, at least for BJP old timers. It's rumoured to have even caused discomfort to party president and Modi aide, Amit Shah.
At every corner, her rivals look for opportunities to castigate Irani, who remains on Delhi's charcoal grill of forked tongues and artful nudges, especially over her proximity to Modi, her educational qualifications and decisions as HRD minister.
Consider this one.
On the occasion of Rakhi last week, many tweeted about her absence at the PM's residence. Najma Heptullah, former Rajya Sabha speaker and now minority affairs minister, tied a rakhi to Modi. “Where is the sister?“ laughed many. Then there is the dig about spatial proximity. Some BJP members are said to have objected when Irani was offered a home -once occupied by former labour minister Sis Ram Ola -that shared a boundary wall with Modi's residence. “It could again cause heart burn,“ a senior cabinet minister is said to have warned the PM.
The plan was shelved.
The jokes on Facebook and Twitter haven't. Irani's latest claim at a media conclave in Delhi about having acquired a degree from Yale University was enough to trigger an unforgiving lampooning campaign on social media and a volley of jokes about college degrees, including one that claimed Salman Khan had a degree from `Virginia' University.
Refusing to miss a chance, Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi clarified that it was in fact, a certificate Irani was handed for a six-day leadership programme she attended in 2013 with 11 other Indian lawmakers.
`#Yale' was trending on Twitter in India for the second day on Monday. A Photoshopped certificate doing the rounds of WhatsApp described Yale as `Yashoda Academy of Lallantap Engineering'.
On Monday, the HRD ministry issued a note, saying Irani's comment was misconstrued.
This comes after existing confusion over her educational qualifications. Although Irani has stated that she has been through a correspondence course from Delhi University, the 2004 election affidavit mentions a BA degree acquired in 1996 while a 2014 affidavit mentions a B.Com Part 1 degree acquired in 1994. When Modi appointed her HRD minister in May, the Congress questioned how someone who had never been to college could oversee higher education poli cy. BJP spokes person Nalin Kohli called it “tasteless“.
“Integrity, hard work and hon esty are among the criteria used to select ministers, and Ms Irani has all in ample measure,“ he said. “It appears the Congress is agenda-less and clueless. Perhaps they would like to reflect on the quality of their leadership before they comment on the educational qualifications of ministers who have been sworn in 24 hours ago,“ he added.
But education has rarely been the basis for selecting political leaders in the country. In Modi's cabinet, Uma Bharti, minister of water resources, ended her formal schooling after class five, according to data from the Association for Democratic Reforms.
But last week was clearly NDA's face palm moment. BJP leaders were -expectedly -furious and embarrassed. There are times when Irani, instead of ducking questions like a seasoned politician, has played into the hands of pesky reporters outside Parliament. Once, when they wished that she react to her decision to scrap the FYUP course in Delhi University but agreeing to a similar course in BJP-ruled Karnataka, Irani retorted, “Hein, hein, hein, hein?“ before saying, “Considering you all think I am dumb, wasn't this the best way to answer your questions?“ Many feel Irani, who isn't keen to discuss her time in the glamour industry, ironically continues to behave like a star. “She thinks she is constantly under watch and scrutiny.
She rarely lets her guard down. She should be more at ease,“ says a BJP veteran, refusing to be quoted. The leader says her defiance is often construed as arrogance, a mask she wears while learning a job on the job.
At Mahila Morcha meetings, she had repeatedly told workers not to call her `Tulsi', the television character that made her a brand. Some complied, others didn't. Irani was left fuming. After last week's Yale fiasco, she appealed to people via television to “judge me by my work“. That makes perfect sense. Now, if only her cabinet colleagues would agree.
In the Indian capital, buck-eyed politicians high on their lethal cocktail of power, position and cash consider Smriti Irani, India's new education minister, a loner.
Whether or not our youngest cabinet minister is a graduate is not uppermost on anyone's mind.
What is, is her unfettered access to prime minister Narendra Modi, who at an election rally in Amethi ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, described her as his “younger sister“. He has, reportedly, allowed her unlimited access for quite some time. It's interesting then that Irani went from being Modi's most vocal critic, threatening bhookh hartal in 2004 if he didn't apologise for the riots following Godhra, to openly batting for him during the Advani-Modi power clash.
It is not the first time an actor has made it to Parliament. In fact, the current Parliament has a bevy of them -Hema Malini (Bharatiya Janata Party), Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party), Rekha (Congress), Moonmoon Sen, Shatabdi Roy and Sandhya Roy (Trinamool Congress). But it's their lack of urge to discuss issues of national or international importance, either inside or out side the houses that makes their heavyweight glamour quotient overpower politicking.
But not with Irani.
Finalist at Femina Miss India in 1998, 38-year-old Irani quit a mega-successful career in television that made her India's most obedient daughter-in-law to take up politics. In 2003, although she lost to Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk as BJP candidate, she was anointed VP of the Maharashtra Youth Wing the following year. By the time she quit her show, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Thi in 2007, she was being noticed for her commitment to politics, constant presence in the media and skill to carry through an argument in competitive debate.
After being made national secretary of the party in 2010, she was named president of BJP's Mahila Morcha, a not so powerful body within the party set-up. What it did was allow her constant media minutes as she took stage during showdowns on national television against rival spokespeople.
In August 2011, Irani was sworn in as MP from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha.
It's possibly here that the journey to becoming the PM's `confidant' -an imaginary title that has gained credence ever since she was pitted against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi -began. Her detractors rue that in Lutyens' Delhi, Irani is the only cabinet minister to walk into the PMO without being frisked. They do not say whether a similar facility existed for the Gandhis during Congress rule. This breakneck accent isn't the stuff of good news, at least for BJP old timers. It's rumoured to have even caused discomfort to party president and Modi aide, Amit Shah.
At every corner, her rivals look for opportunities to castigate Irani, who remains on Delhi's charcoal grill of forked tongues and artful nudges, especially over her proximity to Modi, her educational qualifications and decisions as HRD minister.
Consider this one.
On the occasion of Rakhi last week, many tweeted about her absence at the PM's residence. Najma Heptullah, former Rajya Sabha speaker and now minority affairs minister, tied a rakhi to Modi. “Where is the sister?“ laughed many. Then there is the dig about spatial proximity. Some BJP members are said to have objected when Irani was offered a home -once occupied by former labour minister Sis Ram Ola -that shared a boundary wall with Modi's residence. “It could again cause heart burn,“ a senior cabinet minister is said to have warned the PM.
The plan was shelved.
The jokes on Facebook and Twitter haven't. Irani's latest claim at a media conclave in Delhi about having acquired a degree from Yale University was enough to trigger an unforgiving lampooning campaign on social media and a volley of jokes about college degrees, including one that claimed Salman Khan had a degree from `Virginia' University.
Refusing to miss a chance, Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi clarified that it was in fact, a certificate Irani was handed for a six-day leadership programme she attended in 2013 with 11 other Indian lawmakers.
`#Yale' was trending on Twitter in India for the second day on Monday. A Photoshopped certificate doing the rounds of WhatsApp described Yale as `Yashoda Academy of Lallantap Engineering'.
On Monday, the HRD ministry issued a note, saying Irani's comment was misconstrued.
This comes after existing confusion over her educational qualifications. Although Irani has stated that she has been through a correspondence course from Delhi University, the 2004 election affidavit mentions a BA degree acquired in 1996 while a 2014 affidavit mentions a B.Com Part 1 degree acquired in 1994. When Modi appointed her HRD minister in May, the Congress questioned how someone who had never been to college could oversee higher education poli cy. BJP spokes person Nalin Kohli called it “tasteless“.
“Integrity, hard work and hon esty are among the criteria used to select ministers, and Ms Irani has all in ample measure,“ he said. “It appears the Congress is agenda-less and clueless. Perhaps they would like to reflect on the quality of their leadership before they comment on the educational qualifications of ministers who have been sworn in 24 hours ago,“ he added.
But education has rarely been the basis for selecting political leaders in the country. In Modi's cabinet, Uma Bharti, minister of water resources, ended her formal schooling after class five, according to data from the Association for Democratic Reforms.
But last week was clearly NDA's face palm moment. BJP leaders were -expectedly -furious and embarrassed. There are times when Irani, instead of ducking questions like a seasoned politician, has played into the hands of pesky reporters outside Parliament. Once, when they wished that she react to her decision to scrap the FYUP course in Delhi University but agreeing to a similar course in BJP-ruled Karnataka, Irani retorted, “Hein, hein, hein, hein?“ before saying, “Considering you all think I am dumb, wasn't this the best way to answer your questions?“ Many feel Irani, who isn't keen to discuss her time in the glamour industry, ironically continues to behave like a star. “She thinks she is constantly under watch and scrutiny.
She rarely lets her guard down. She should be more at ease,“ says a BJP veteran, refusing to be quoted. The leader says her defiance is often construed as arrogance, a mask she wears while learning a job on the job.
At Mahila Morcha meetings, she had repeatedly told workers not to call her `Tulsi', the television character that made her a brand. Some complied, others didn't. Irani was left fuming. After last week's Yale fiasco, she appealed to people via television to “judge me by my work“. That makes perfect sense. Now, if only her cabinet colleagues would agree.
