Glasshouse

ON GRANDFATHER DUTY

When a grandson makes demands, even a chief minister has little choice but to comply. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy turned cook at his Banjara Hills residence earlier this month after three-year-old grandson Reyansh insisted that he would have pooris, but only if they were made by grandpa. Setting aside his packed schedule, the CM made his way to the kitchen and dished out a dozen rather uneven pooris as Reyansh watched, offering instructions. The family moment was later shared by Revanth on social media. Meanwhile, bitter rival and ex-CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao was also on grandfather duty. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief has been largely confined to his Erravelli farmhouse since the 2023 election defeat, but rushed to Hyderabad after grandson Himanshu, 21, suffered a minor sports injury. It seems family is topmost on the mind for Telangana’s top two political rivals, especially when it comes to their grandkids.

HM’S GREEN MISSION | PLANTING IDEAS

Union home minister and Gandhinagar MP Amit Shah has set an unusually ambitious target for his constituency: make it the greenest in the country. This is less an aspiration than a declared mission. BJP sources say around 12.5 million saplings have reached Gandhinagar this year, of which 6 million will be planted under Van Kavach, Gujarat’s version of Japan’s dense Miyawaki afforestation model. The plantations will cover 82 sites spread across 600 hectares, including a 100-hectare Maha Van Kavach. Next year, the Gujarat forest department plans to develop Van Kavach plantations across 1,100 hectares in the state, including another 600 hectares in Shah’s Lok Sabha constituency.

BOVINE STATE

Cow protection is now everyone’s cause in Uttar Pradesh. On July 8, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party organised a big show in Lucknow where Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati renewed his demand for the cow to be declared ‘rashtra mata (nation’s mother)’. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani has also backed the move, while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is adamant that all citizens become gau bhakts. Not to be outdone, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has arrested thousands in its ramped-up drive against illegal slaughterhouses and cattle smuggling.

SUGAR TEST

In Maihar, MP, divisional commissioner Sheelendra Singh was chairing a review meeting when he noticed officials repeatedly leaving to use the restroom. Frequent pee breaks can be a sign of high blood sugar, but Singh was hoping to prove otherwise when he ordered diabetes tests for those present. Surprisingly, of the 47 officers tested, 15 were found to have levels well above the safe range. The episode has now shifted the conversation from officials shirking work to the toll the job is taking on their health.

SPEEDY NARA

Once criticised by opponents for his awkward demeanour, Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh now projects himself as a minister focused on speed and delivery. The Telugu Desam Party scion recently returned from an investment promotion tour of South Korea with a new nickname given by his hosts: palli, palli minister. In Korean, ‘palli’ means quickly, a reference to Lokesh’s insistence on swift progress on investment proposals. “That’s what I want to be known for...a minister who cuts through red tape and gets things done quickly,” says Lokesh.

—with Prasad Nichenametla, Jumana Shah, Ashish Misra and Rahul Noronha