Why a village in Chhattisgarh wants name change due to Rafale controversy

Residents of a small hamlet in Chhattisgarh are in a quandary. The village has no direct or indirect connection with the now infamous “Rafale deal” but its inhabitants have become the butt of jokes for people in neighbouring villages and the many visitors. The reason? The name of this village is Rafel and it rhymes with Rafale, the twin-jet fighter aircraft from Dassault Rafale in the middle of a huge controversy this election season. Rafel residents are now demanding the name of the village be changed — some of them even joke that villagers will face an enquiry if the Congress comes to power.

Maneka's warning

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha member Maneka Gandhi  is smarting after her recent speech in Sultanpur — where she told minorities in her constituency that they should not knock on her door seeking help if they don’t vote for her — went viral on social media drawing much criticism. On Monday, another clip of hers hit social media in which she can be heard castigating her party's IT cell for not defending her, and even threatening to disband it. In the video clip she points out this is only the beginning of the election campaign and there would be many more occasions when she will become a target of her political rivals. “So if you don't mend your ways, there is no use of an IT cell,” Gandhi warned the team.

GoT bug

You are not the only one to be bitten by the Game of Thrones (GoT) bug. The Election Commission (EC) of India and Press Information Bureau (PIB) are piggybacking on the popularity of the HBO series to urge citizens to go out and vote. Around mid-day yesterday (April 15) the EC sent out a tweet "? Is Coming" in an apparent reference to GoT’s famous "Winter Is Coming" tagline. The tweet urged users to don their “creativity caps” and guess what the tweet was about or wait for the reveal at 1 pm. The PIB tweeted three memes at the appointed time — two showcasing popular GoT characters, and a third resembling a poster similar to a GoT spoiler. “A very small man can cast a very large one,” read the first message with an image of Tyrion Lannister. The second one with a picture of Hodor said, “Not all heroes hold weapons... some just vote”. A third one simply said: "Festival of Democracy: Phase 2 to 7. Coming soon."