The Amit Shah effect is visible in Parliament. The presence of the all powerful BJP president who was elected to the Rajya Sabha recently has ensured that attendance of BJP MPs has shot up. Opposition circles are amused to find that treasury benches in both Houses are quite full this session.

The ruling party faced several embarrassing moments in the monsoon session when it couldn’t get some bills passed because of thin attendance of BJP MPs. Shah seems to have cracked the whip.

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In fact, just the other day, he spied a BJP MP outside the House. Shah immediately summoned him and asked why he wasn’t inside. Has the House been adjourned, he asked sarcastically. The embarrassed MP scurried back into the House before he got a tongue lashing.

Quick response

Having Amit Shah in Parliament has other uses. Government responses to tricky situations are faster because Shah is on the spot to give directions and pass orders.

A recent example is the speedy assurance given by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar that the name of Delhi University’s Dayal Singh College would not be changed to Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya as demanded by a section of the RSS.

The issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha by Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral. He lashed out at the proposal and pointed out that the name change would hurt Sikh sentiments. Dayal Singh Majithia is a revered name in Punjab. He was a well known philanthropist who started The Tribune newspaper, Punjab National Bank and a host of educational institutions.

The decision to change the name of the college was taken by the governing body which is now headed by an RSS-BJP man.

As Gujral spoke his mind without mincing words, Javadekar looked unsure. Shah helped him out by whispering to him in the House itself. The BJP boss seems to have told the minister to assure Gujral that the name of the college would not be changed because when Javadekar got up to speak, that’s the assurance he gave.

There is an interesting back story to this. Apparently, word got to Narendra Modi that Gujral had raised the issue in an interview to a TV channel the night the Gujarat results were declared. The Akali MP used strong words to criticize the arrogant manner in which the present BJP leadership functions – he said what was needed was “the Vajpayee touch”. A Modi aide communicated this to the PM who is said to have lost his temper. According to reports, he blew up and said that the way things were going, they would end up antagonising every community in the country.

Putting two and two together, Modi must have conveyed his strong feelings to Shah which is why the BJP president intervened in favour of the Sikh community when Gujral spoke up about the name change of Dayal Singh College.

Food festivals

The new railways minister Piyush Goyal is determined to leave his mark on Parliament. The railways ministry runs the canteens in Parliament House. There is a parliamentary food committee for overall supervision but the railways manage the kitchens.

The Piyush touch is the introduction of a weekly food festival. He has ordered the Parliament canteen to start a weekly special menu of foods from various states. Every week, a different state cuisine will be showcased.

Goyal has tied up with the state bhavans in Delhi to supply the food. And the menu is colourfully printed on glossy paper with pictures and prices. All unusually sophisticated for Parliament.

Naturally, the food festival has kicked off with Gujarat. Last week, the menu included items like thepla, vaatana samosa, fafda with fried mirch, dudhi na muthiya and other Gujarati favourites. Political circles are wondering whether Modi and Shah were impressed with Piyush’s brainwave.

Rahul’s roles

Now that Rahul Gandhi has become Congress president, party circles are wondering whether he will take over two other posts held by his mother. One is the post of chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party. The other is the post of chairperson of UPA.

Interestingly, some friendly parties of the Congress have communicated to the party leadership that they want Sonia to continue as UPA chairperson. These parties include Trinamool Congress and NCP which feel that Sonia has the status, maturity and is better equipped to deal with them.

No decision has been taken yet just like no decision has been taken on whether Rahul will become the chairperson of the parliamentary party in place of his mother.

While the official designation remains nebulous, for all practical purposes, Rahul is functioning as the parliamentary party head. Leaders in both Houses, Ghulam Nabi Azad from the Rajya Sabha and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Lok Sabha, consult him regularly about the day’s strategy in the House, how much to disrupt, what issues to raise, floor coordination with other parties, etc.

Rahul has not spent much time in the House so far. Friendly opposition parties feel that his presence would make the consultation process and decision making easier and quicker.