A cracking front

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is having a tough time keeping his flock of bureaucrats together. While some of them narrate difficulties in working under him and the administration, including ministers like G Sudhakaran, a few of them point out that they are caught helplessly in factional feud between the Chief Minister and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Following Bharat Bhusan who joined the Centre as a joint secretary in the IT Ministry last month, some senior level officers, two of them at the principal secretary-level, are pushing for deputation. Bhusan has had difference with Devaswam Minister G Sudhakaran and had to leave the state. Some officers are even taking the VRS route. G E Tenzing, secretary of IT department, opted for the VRS last week. Gyanesh Kumar, another senior IAS officer who is on a long leave, is also said to be contemplating voluntary retirement.

Masterstroke

It was a coup of sorts8212;after a failed attempt to set up base in New Delhi two years ago, and to renew her friendship with the Nehru-Gandhis, it was a triumphant Ramola Bachchan, the younger but ex-Bachchan Bahu, who had none other than Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and hubby Robert in tow, to attend a preview of her art collection in Delhi. Sarina Nirula and Ramola, the Asian Charity Queens of London, will be hosting their first art auction at their charity ball in Mumbai, in April, for street children. Priyanka and Robert sashayed through the ballroom where the paintings were exhibited, even as the causeratti clinked champagne and quaffed canapeacute;s. Now, who said this Gandhi sibling was apolitical?

Elusive leader

On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi remains aloof and distant from the public even today. The Gandhi heir had dispatched 100 select youth leaders to UP constituencies to get a feedback and suggest candidates for the forthcoming polls. After their return last week, the cadets naturally expected an opportunity to interact with the scion, but it did not happen. Instead, it was a member of Rahul8217;s personal team, who has been leading the talks with RLD chief Ajit Singh, who met them and asked them to submit written reports on their visit. The disappointed young men are now left wondering whether putting pen to paper is really worth their while.

New job for Kiran?

Kiran Bedi8217;s name is doing the rounds yet again, this time as head of the Central Industrial Security Force CISF. She is one of four names short-listed, and has been forwarded to the Cabinet Appointments Committee for a final decision. However, Bedi, who currently heads the Bureau of Police Research and Development, is eyeing the Delhi Police Commissioner8217;s post. Now, the Government needs to be certain she doesn8217;t object to this as a way to deny her the job she actually wants. In this whole affair, K K Paul may just find himself continuing as Delhi8217;s top cop.

US eye in India

As the relationship with Pervez Musharraf enters a turbulent phase, Washington is seeking more reliable methods to keep tabs on terror networks in South Asia. And where better than New Delhi? The US has preferred to station a senior official as Regional Co-ordinator for counter terrorism in South Asia at its embassy in Delhi. The official, possibly of the rank of a counsellor, will be responsible for streamlining US response on terror in all its embassies in the region. What is not being said is that the official will also facilitate greater coordination with India for a mutual approach towards terrorism in the region.

Punjab problem

BJP leader Arun Jaitley is fed up of demanding party leaders from Punjab. Many of them, including cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia, have actually camped in Delhi asking the Central leadership to talk to the Akalis about accommodating them in comfortable ministries and corporations. An irritated Jaitley, who enjoys an exceptionally good equation with the Akalis, was forced to speak to BJP president Rajnath Singh after they started appearing at his home, and said they should be reined in. Meanwhile, a senior Akali leader says the BJP has been given its due share and that Kalia has been given No.2 status. He took oath after Badal, even though he may not be Deputy Chief Minister.

Protecting Patel

The BJP certainly went to great lengths to keep Apna Dal8217;s Sone Lal Patel away from political poachers. First they brought him to Delhi and kept him in the Capital for about a week, virtually in custody, with only a handful of leaders aware of his whereabouts. So paranoid was the BJP leadership that when someone alerted them that the Congress had got wind of his hideout, they persuaded Patel to change his personal security officer, fearing information was leaking from the poor guard. It was only after the alliance was sewed up, the Apna Dal would get about 37 seats, that he was brought out.

Budget8217;s fine print

If budgets are about numbers, here are some facts from Finance Minister P Chidambaram8217;s reply to the debate on the Union Budget. In his reply addressing the concerns/criticism of the Budget, inflation appears to be top priority. It appears 20 times in his speech. This was followed by the word UPA that appears 15 times. Despite the budget attempting to focus on aam admi, this word appears only appears 10 times. The interesting part is really one person that the FM repeatedly attacked8212;deputy leader of the Opposition V K Malhotra. He appears 14 times in the FM8217;s reply and on virtually every subject that the FM touched upon. In one of his criticisms of the Budget, Malhotra compared the initiative of cutting duties on pet food as something similar to what France8217;s Queen Marie Antoinette had said before the French revolution: 8220;Give them cakes if they don8217;t have bread!8221;

Berlin blueprint

Tourism Minister Ambika Soni is displeased the ITB, Berlin, did not get the coverage it should have got, despite the significant presence of the Indian media contingent in Germany. Officials have now been given clear instructions: to ensure information and visuals regarding the Berlin exhibition are easily available to mediapersons. Top bureaucrats have also made themselves freely available for interviews. A successful media campaign is not just crucial to make the minister happy but, in the case of one powerful bureaucrat, it can also mean another extension in the ministry.

Tailpiece

It was the worst week for CPIM MPs8212;barely had the on-camera WWF-style bout between them and DMK ministers on the Maritime University Bill faded, when Nandigram happened. One angry CPIM MP, who was in the forefront of the fist-fight with Shipping Minister T R Baalu in the Lok Sabha, listed five projects whisked off to Chennai by 8216;DMK ministries8217;, including Nokia8217;s mobile manufacturing unit. But what really riled them was Baalu8217;s snide: 8220;Why fight here? Can you provide land for either a university or a factory without beating up farmers?8221;