A sacrificial lamb or mascot?

The BJP is gung-ho about celebrating five years of Atal Behari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. But the PM is not amused. At last week8217;s par...

The BJP is gung-ho about celebrating five years of Atal Behari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. But the PM is not amused. At last week8217;s parliamentary party meeting, the last before Parliament adjourned for a mid-session break, he chided his colleagues for the spin being given to what is technically not a full term of office. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had greeted him with a shawl and laddoos to mark the completion of his fifth year as PM. Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani had spoken at length about Vajpayee being the first non-Congress PM to achieve this landmark.

When Vajpayee took the floor, however, he burst their bubble by pointing out that there were two parts to the five years. 8216;8216;Tukdo mein hue they were in segments,8217;8217; he is believed to have said, adding that as far as he was concerned, he had completed only three-and-a-half years of his current term.

But the sharpest comment was yet to come. 8216;8216;Of course, if I am your sacrificial lamb, it8217;s a different matter,8217;8217; he told the gathering of BJP MPs. Party circles are still trying to figure out what he meant by referring to himself as a sacrificial lamb.

Meanwhile, a compromise has been struck between a reluctant Vajpayee and his insistent party. He8217;s scotched suggestions to address a press conference to showcase his five years as setting a record for a non-Congress PM. But he8217;s agreed to speak at a rally in the Capital on April 5, being billed as a show of strength in the run-up to November8217;s Assembly polls.

Kalam, the perfect host

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam seems determined to leave his footprints in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Having dispensed with the formal dress code for the At Homes, he8217;s now turned his attention to adding the Kalam touch to the banquets hosted for visiting Heads of State.

For one, he8217;s asked that at least one, sometimes two and three, dishes native to his guest8217;s homeland be included in the menu. In addition, the band that entertains the guests during the banquet has been ordered to play a couple of popular tunes from that country.

All this is done in coordination with the local embassies which arrange for the musical scores and also send their staff to teach the Rashtrapati Bhavan cooks to make their delicacies. His ideas have apparently proved popular with his visitors.

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His most recent guests, the President of Surinam and his wife, burst into spontaneous applause after the band played one of their famous songs. Kalam has introduced a personal element in the banquets too.

His poem, Ignited Mind, which has been set to tune by various composers including A.R. Rahman, is part of the musical entertainment. Kalam penned the verse for his favourite constituency, students, and Rahman wrote the score for Children8217;s Day last year.

Joshi follows Advani8217;s steps

After pleasing his RSS bosses and their Hindu constituency with his efforts to 8216;8216;saffronise8217;8217; education, as his critics call it, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi is now trying to spread his net to win friends and influence people among the minorities. He8217;s already won kudos from the Urduwallahs for the boost he8217;s giving the language.

In fact, Joshi has steadily increased the financial allocation for the National Council for the Promotion of Urdu, from Rs 300 lakhs in 1998-99 to Rs 950 lakhs in 2002-2003. He8217;s also been donating computers to madrasas and calling influential Muslim groups for informal chats.

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His latest target is the Christian community. A recent tour of Kerala saw him wooing the Bishops and Archbishops in the guise of visiting technical institutions. Joshi was the soul of discretion at a function where the leading priests of Kerala were present, as he refrained from raising touchy subjects like conversions. Clearly, it8217;s not just Advani who8217;s trying to 8216;8216;secularise8217;8217; his image. Joshi too seems to have been bitten by the bug.