'Is that bird dropping?', Divya Spandana's tweet on Modi sparks controversy

Congress social media chief Divya Spandana has been credited with turning around her party's social media presence. There were occasions where her judgement on some of the tweets were questioned, at times by her own party. On Thursday, Spandana tweeted a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Statue of Unity with the comment, “Is that bird dropping?”. When criticised, Spandana shot back by addressing her critics pejoratively. 

Party sources said Spandana was on her way out, and the tweet was the last straw. In fact, since realising that she would be sacked Spandana had turned more vituperative in her tweets. Party sources said she probably wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Several of her team members have also quit recently.

Not Indian culture

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken it upon himself to offer Congress president Rahul Gandhi some lessons in Indian culture. Recently, after a day of campaigning, Rahul Gandhi headed to a popular hangout in Indore, 56 Dukan, for an ice-cream. Party leader Kamal Nath was also with him. As Gandhi was handed his cup of the dessert, he spotted a boy looking at him eagerly. "Ice-cream logey?" (want an ice-cream?) he asked the boy, who was only too happy to oblige. Thereafter, Gandhi turned to Kamal Nath, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, and said, "Kamal, ice-cream bahut achhi hai, tum bhi khao (Kamal, the ice-cream is really nice, you should have one too)." The next thing you know Chouhan is outraged: "Kamal Nath has worked with his father Rajiv Gandhi. Is this Indian culture to address a man of 70-75 years by his first name," he asked, after being told of the ice-cream episode.

Keeping to the formula

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was in Delhi till Thursday, and his entourage, have taken control of Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi, which the state shares with Telangana. The conference room has photographs of both Naidu and Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao. However, Rao's photograph is a tad smaller than that of Naidu. An Andhra/Telangana Bhavan official joked it was because after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, AP and Telangana had agreed to divide assets and institutions in the 58:42 ratio on the basis of population.