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Even after Gowda’s JD(S) helped the Congress form the Karnataka government the former PM felt that the latter continued to treat him cavalierly. Although the JD(S) has three MPs, the party was not offered any ministerial representation at the Centre.

Gowda was disappointed that the key Congressmen in charge of the state, A K Antony and Mallikarjun Kharge, did not even bother to call on him. He was particularly hurt that Sonia seemed to have no time for him. Between January 1 and 17, Gowda visited Delhi five times and on each visit sought an appointment with the Congress president, but was fobbed off. It was only after his fifth visit that Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy announced withdrawal of support. At which point, Sonia finaly telephoned Gowda in Bangalore, but by then it was too late.

Butting in on point of law

A fortnight back Buta Singh was sitting in the Delhi airport VIP lounge chatting with S S Ahluwalia when BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is also from Bihar, walked in. Singh asked Prasad for his legal opinion since Ahluwalia and he were arguing about the Supreme Court order on the Bihar Assembly dissolution. When Prasad seconded the view of the court citing the Bommai judgment, the Bihar governor turned offensive and snapped that Prasad did not know anything at all and did not understand the Bommai judgment. Prasad lost his cool and pointed out that he was a senior counsel of some standing and a former law minister as well, who certainly knew more law than Singh.

Singh apologised and Prasad suggested that he could always file a review petition. Singh volunteered that his lawyers had badly messed up his case. Now that the detailed Supreme Court judgment is out, Singh has taken heed of Prasad’s advice and is planning to file a review.

I & B’s overdrive

After Sonia Gandhi complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his government was doing little to project its achievements and highlight the implementation of the Common Minimum Programme, the I & B Ministry has been on overdrive. Half-page colour advertisements trumpeting the Government’s programmes in rural employment, rural infrastructure, the right to information etc have started appearing in the national press, reminiscent of the NDA’s ill-fated India Shining campaign. Manmohan Singh’s quote ‘‘I have only promises to keep’’ is the bottom line.

The sleepy Press Information Bureau has also woken up. The dynamic new Principal Information Officer Deepak Sandhu has written to all ministries asking them to elaborate on their positive developments so that she can brief correspondents on the Government’s achievements.

Air and Doordarshan have turned into captive publicity departments for the government. Former I & B minister Jaipal Reddy was reluctant to interfere in Prasar Bharati since he was the moving force behind the Bill creating the supposedly autonomous corporation. But his replacement Priya Ranjan Das Munshi has no such qualms. Within days of Das Munshi taking over, DD telecast a gushing 15-minute documentary on Sonia Gandhi’s ‘‘inspiring’’ life, which flouted all Prasar Bharati norms. News on opposition parties has been slashed and sound bites of opposition leaders are seldom used. In contrast, there are extensive quotes from members of the ruling party.

Unwilling to be put to pasture

Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari did not show up for the AICC session in Hyderabad to express his displeasure at being dropped from the CWC. Tiwari made no excuses for his absence. In fact, he permitted TV channels to film him in his home state looking hale and hearty. In Hyderabad, his arch rival, PCC chief Harish Rawat, could hardly hide his glee as he believes that Tiwari’s days are numbered. Tiwari’s detractors want him out because of his advancing years (he will be 81 in October), absentmindedness and dependence on select members of his cabinet.

But Tiwari is not as laid back and infirm as his detractors imply. Under Tiwari, Uttaranchal has earned a reputation for being far more responsive to potential investors than Himachal Pradesh, which is plagued by red tape and delays. On Republic Day the state government issued ads nationally proclaiming the unparalleled achievements of Uttaranchal. If the Congress does not retire Tiwari honourably by offering him a suitable sinecure, there is every possibility of the Chief Minister revolting and floating a regional outfit, people close to him warn.

Eyes to be wide shut

Indian journalists who wanted to accompany Jaswant Singh on his historic pilgrimage to Nani ka Mandir in Baluchistan have been denied visas by Pakistan. The only exception being Aveek Sarkar, owner-editor of the Ananda Bazar Patrika group, who presumably isn’t planning to write about his travels. Clearly, the Pakistani government is anxious to shield the troubled state from the prying eyes of Indian journalists. The Pakistanis, however, seem to have overlooked the fact that Singh’s son, BJP MP Manvendra Singh, who is also on the pilgrimage is a former journalist.