Delhi Confidential: Work And Worship

The official Twitter handle of Prasar Bharati News Services, the country’s official broadcaster, created a flutter on Twitter on Saturday when it referred to Pakistan as “Terroristan”. This came after India used its Right of Reply at the UN General Assembly to respond to Imran Khan’s address. After reactions poured in, the handle stated that “terroristan” has been part of official Indian diplomatic parlance in the UN as far back as 2017. It quoted a September 2017 tweet by India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin which said “Pakistan is now Terroristan”.

Surprise Selection

The BJP’s list of candidates for bypolls in Kerala, released on Sunday, has surprised many. Former state party chief and former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajashekharan was expected to be the candidate from Vattiyoorkavu. But the party announced S Suresh as its nominee. In the 2016 state polls, Rajasekharan had given a tough fight to Congress leader K Muraleedharan on the seat and finished second. Sources said the party’s internal issues ruined his chances. Rajashekharan, it is learnt, never had good equations with a senior leader who has a key role in the decision on tickets. Now state leaders say they get would have a hard time explaining why he is not the candidate as some of them have publicly said Rajasekharan would be the candidate.