In the autumn of life,85-year-old Sukh Ram has finally fallen into the hands of the law. One of Himachals most powerful politicians during his hey days and who led the telecom revolution in the state by giving a phone to every household,today the former Union minister is ensconced in the ward of Delhis Tihar Jail. Sukh Rams plan was to spend the chilly winter in Lutyens Delhi with his US-based daughter. But then,as a Congress leader says,Look what the destiny has in store for him. Tihar Jail is not a cozy home. But Sukh Rams script had only Delhi written on it,not Tihar Jail. Healthy Campaigning A sitting BJP MLA,who had a providential escape in a road accident,has been undergoing physiotherapy in Chandigarh. For two months,staying at Himachal Bhawan,she underwent regular physiotherapy sessions. Once recovered,she hit the road,campaigning for Nalagarh bypoll. But in spite of her hectic political schedule,she has not missed her physiotherapy sessions in Chandigarhreturning in the evening,going for physiotherapy in the morning and then joining the campaigning. In the end,healthwhether it is of the MLA or the partyis of prime importance. No Repetitions AT MANDI rally as part of the Jan Chetna Yatra,senior BJP leader L K Advani confined himself to corruption issues plauging the country. With veteran leader Shanta Kumar having already raised corruption,black money and dynasty rule,Advani thought it fit not to repeat the same issues. But the moment he crossed over to Uttarakhand,dynasty rule was back in focus. Pariwarwad aur bhrashtachar rajneeti ke liye ghatak hain (Dynastic rule and corruption are harmful for politics), he said. Housefull The Kalka-Delhi road last week saw heavy traffic as bureaucrats and politicians took to the wheels both for official work and social engagements. But it was not only traffic that they had to manoeuvre but they also had a tough time getting rooms as state-run Himachal Bhawan and Himachal Sadan both in Delhi,were overbooked for marriage functions. From kith and kin of ministers,MLAs,bureaucrats to judges and even retired government officials,put the General Administration Department on tenterhooks. Finally,it came down to influence and those who could pull political and official strings were given rooms. The only thing lacking in both Bhawan and Sadan was board,saying houseful.
