Minister of State Ravi Shankar Prasad must be feeling a bit like presidential hopefuls P C Alexander and Krishan Kant did when they were first nominated and then rudely dumped by the NDA during the sordid politicking that went on over the country’s top post. His name was cleared for the Law Ministry and he was informed by the powers-that-be that he would hold independent charge of the portfolio being vacated by Arun Jaitley. Apparently, word was even sent to Chief Justice Bharucha.This was on Sunday morning. By evening, just 24 hours before the swearing-in ceremony, Prasad received an apologetic phone call to say the job was not his any more. Ousted BJP president Jana Krishnamurthi had point blank refused to take any other ministry except law. This was his pound of flesh for the unceremonious manner in which he was removed from the party. So what happened to the famed RSS discipline? Younger BJP leaders are shocked by the emotional blackmail tactics used by Jana who happens to have been a founder member of the Jana Sangh. They are even more disappointed by the manner in which the leadership succumbed. As a sop, Prasad has been given law as additional charge but he will have to work under Jana.Lessons for the Deputy PM.The post of Deputy Prime Minister may not have Constitutional sanction but past Governments have worked out several protocol niceties which the latest incumbent, L K Advani, is just beginning to discover. For instance, he received two cards to the swearing-in ceremony from Rashtrapati Bhawan. One was addressed simply to Shri L K Advani, Home Minister. The other was addressed to Shri and Smt L K Advani, Deputy Prime Minister. The result was that Advani’s wife, Kamla, made a rare appearance at the function and was given a seat of honour in the front row. Apparently, wives are not invited as a rule if their husbands are just ministers.The two of them were also guided to Ashoka Hall through the entrance reserved for the President, Vice President and Prime Minister. Of course, Advani had the last word on the ceremonial perk that he has being given. ‘‘I may be Deputy Prime Minister in the Government but at home, I’m still Deputy Home Minister,’’ he quipped to a group of correspondents after the new ministers were sworn in.. and for the BJP’s new voiceWhile Advani is discovering the little joys of being Deputy Prime Minister, former Law and Company Affairs minister Arun Jaitley is getting a taste what it means to be the BJP’s chief spokesman. During his evening walk after the newspapers had announced his new appointment, he was accosted by an agitated co-walker who insisted on speaking to him. Jaitley politely tried to sidestep him, saying that he wanted to finish his walk first. The man refused to listen. ‘‘You are now spokesman of the BJP and I am a citizen,’’ he told the bemused former minister. ‘‘You will have to listen to me.’’ Hacks on the BJP beat are, of course, looking forward to having two new media-friendly office bearers in the party. Both Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu are known for their partiality towards the press which should give journalists enough stories to keep busy.From Vajpayee’s kitchenAdvani's reference to Vajpayee’s culinary skills in his speech at his book release function last week threw light on another aspect of the poet-Prime Minister. He is apparently a competent cook and according to Advani, cooking is listed among his hobbies in the Lok Sabha Who’s Who. Old-timers in the BJP recall that when Vajpayee used to share a chummery with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and J P Mathur at 30 Rajendra Prasad Road way back in the sixties, the PM was assigned the task of cooking. Upadhyaya used to wash the clothes and Mathur used to do the dishes. The dish Vajpayee cooked best was apparently khichdi and he used to serve it up often to his house-mates.
