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Journalism of Courage
The Congress or its High Command has a tradition of taking decisions unilaterally8212;of course, all in the 8216;interests of the party8217;. J038;K Chief Minister-designate Ghulam Nabi Azad was attending the Cabinet meeting last Thursday, not knowing that within hours he would be named to succeed Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. In fact, at the meeting, he was even grilled by Finance Minister P Chidambaram over the transfer of markets in Delhi to the local bodies, a proposal moved by Azad8217;s Urban Development Ministry.
Till that evening, Azad was convinced that Mufti Sayeed would be given another year to continue as J038;K CM by the High Command, as the Congress decision did not figure in the Cabinet meeting. But as soon as Azad got out of Race Course Road, he got frantic calls from Congress president Sonia Gandhi8217;s political secretary Ahmad Patel to reach 10, Janpath. The moment Azad landed there, Congress spokesperson Ambika Soni went over to the AICC headquarters to announce Azad8217;s nomination.
A stunned Azad was left with no option but to obey. Returning to the Urban Development Ministry, the first thing that he did was call up the Northern Army Commander, Deepak Kapur, to ensure that his security is taken care of in Srinagar.
Pawar birthday, Pune to Dubai
Babus in Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan are on their toes these days, scrambling to sort out all problems with the IAF on the Pune airport, which is being converted into an international facility. The hurry is because the inaugural international flight to Dubai must take off on December 12, Sharad Pawar8217;s birthday.
The Agriculture Minister8217;s birthday will be an important event for the NCP, and one of its principal leaders, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, is not planning on being left behind in the celebrations. But getting the airport fit for international operations requires certain procedures on which the IAF has put up objections.
Now, with the deadline looming, Patel has taken charge8212;he personally met Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi at the IAF headquarters for this purpose. The Ministry is now willing to take a holistic look at all pending issues as a package so that differences can be resolved through some give and take.
All eyes are now on that Air India Pune-Dubai flight. And word is also out that Indian Airlines will extend its Singapore-Hyderabad flight to Pune the same evening.
No more bending rules for pilots
The Air Sahara plane that skid off Mumbai runway brought its pilot under the scanner as he had landed after crossing two-thirds of the tarmac. There was another facet to the mishap8212;the pilot did not have a security pass and had boarded the plane on a boarding pass.
Recently, a pilot from Kingfisher Airlines was also found without a valid pass in Mumbai airport. Now that the country has a hijack policy, the DGCA feels such a casual attitude needs to be checked. And it has made it clear that a pilot could have his license confiscated if he or she does not hold a valid pass cleared by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
RSS watching, back to basics for BJP
With Big Brother RSS watching its every move, the BJP has decided to implement its 8216;8216;back to basics8217;8217;promise in a very visible manner at the party8217;s Mumbai Mahaadhiveshan to be held in the last week of December. The party8217;s post-defeat national council meeting in Mumbai held at the seven-star Renaissance Hotel, overlooking the picturesque Powai lake, had attracted a lot of flak for its ostentation.
A chastened party leadership has decided to play it safe this time and provide 8216;8216;tented accommodation8217;8217; in the suburb of Bandra to the 3,000-odd delegates who will converge in Mumbai to commemorate the end of the party8217;s silver jubilee celebration. 8216;8216;That used to be the practice during the Jana Sangh days and even in the early years of the BJP,8217;8217; a party official said.
The BJP8217;s tastes have changed a lot since then and a section of the party is convinced that 8216;8216;five-star8217;8217; leaders will not be able to rough it out with the rank and file in makeshift tents. But another section believes that in the race to succeed Advani, contenders will vie with each other to win the 8216;8216;simple living, high thinking8217;8217; award in Mumbai.
8216;BJP8217; diplomat now with Left
That politics makes for strange bedfellows certainly applies to the case of a former IFS official who once headed the Pakistan desk and is now actively involved with the Left8217;s campaign to embarrass the UPA government on the Iran vote at the IAEA. A well-known hawk on Pakistan issues, he would leak to 8216;8216;friendly journalists8217;8217; details of any conciliatory moves between India and Pakistan. Invariably, the diplomatic moves would die early.
There8217;s more. He cosied up to L K Advani when then Prime Minister I K Gujral was firming up an understanding with Nawaz Sharif over what ultimately led to the composite dialogue, and provided the BJP with inside information on the talks. In effect, he was a BJP mole in the Foreign Office and enabled the party to sabotage Gujral8217;s peace moves.
Again, during the Kargil war, he was the one who advocated an all-out escalation on all fronts against Pakistan. But he touched an all-time low on the question of professional integrity when he spread the word that Salman Haider, his foreign secretary, was not to be trusted when it came to Pakistan. The Left will be well advised to get a low-down on its list of experts.
Ideological stand or plain opportunism?
It turns out that the Left is trying out devious ways to politically discredit the UPA. So far, the Left parties had stridently opposed, on ideological grounds, suggestions that the government take support from the BJP on the Patent Bill and the legislation on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
But they abandoned this high ground during a discussion on the Women8217;s Reservation Bill at the UPA-Left coordination meeting last week. When UPA ministers pointed out that it would not be easy to introduce the bill because it would be opposed by the RJD and Samajwadi Party, the Left suggested that support be sought from the BJP. What about the ideological opposition, they were asked. No answer.
No room to spare on Aiyar8217;s red carpet
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar wants an exclusive entry for VIPs coming to his office. His ministry has written to Home Affairs and the Press Information Bureau to stop journalists8217; entry from Gate 4 of Shastri Bhawan. Their reasoning: this back door should be kept exclusively for VIPs. After souping up his ministry with 5-star hotel decor, Aiyar will beautify the entrance for VIPs who, he thinks, could throng his doors following the hardsell abroad. Journalists milling around that gate and rubbing shoulders with the visitors could dent the image Aiyar plans to sell, says his personal staff.
Girija vs Raje, now about land
A political duel of sorts is brewing in Rajasthan between Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and National Commission for Women NCW chief Dr Girija Vyas. It8217;s no secret that Girija loses no opportunity to rap the BJP government in her home state, even on unconfirmed reports.
Vyas wrote some harsh words8212;on behalf of the NCW8212;to the state government following reports that one of Raje8217;s ministers had made some anti-women remarks. She dealt with the Raje government harshly when a government book eulogised sati. But now, Girija is at the receiving end.
Raje8217;s government has cut the size of the plot allotted to Vyas during the Gehlot regime from 2000 sqm to half of it. But Vyas can draw consolation from the fact that she is not alone. Bandhua Mukti Morcha chief Swami Agnivesh too lost his allotted land. Both of them had been given the land for setting up institutions.
No Bollywood in Bihar, please
The Bihar poll campaign this time has been going on without the usual Bollywood fare. No star campaigners, no Hema Malinis, no Vinod Khannas, not even the BJP8217;s biggest Bihar face from Bollywood, Shatrughan Sinha. According to a JD-U leader, it8217;s all to do with NDA ally Sharad Yadav.
It seems Yadav threatened to sit on dharna if BJP8217;s Bihar 8216;prabhari8217; Arun Jaitley dared to inundate the campaign with Bollywood 8216;oldies8217;. Sharad Yadav, a close associate claimed, told Jaitley: 8216;8216;Aise bhi aap khud gayab ho jate ho jab bhi cricket hota hain. Hum to soche is baar aap Chappell-Wappell ko leke humara coaching shuru karoge As it is, you disappear whenever cricket is on. I thought you8217;d be getting Greg Chappell to coach us.8221;
Tribal bill: babus switch camps
The Environment Ministry and the Tribal Affairs Ministry may be going hammer and tongs at each other over the Tribal bill. To compound the confusion, key officials are moving camps now.
Former Tribal Affairs Secretary Meena Gupta, later Special Secretary in the Environment Ministry, has just taken over as Secretary at the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Another official in the same boat is Anurag Bajpai, who was Assistant Inspector General in the Environment Ministry and is now Deputy Secretary in the Tribal Affairs Ministry8212;he is directly linked with the bill.
Tailpiece
Arun Jaitley, the BJP8217;s raconteur par excellence, was chatting away with reporters the other afternoon with half an eye on the second India-Sri Lanka ODI being played out on a TV screen in a corner of the room. BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar walked in mid-way. Impressed by India8217;s score, he asked Jaitley, 8216;8216;How come we are doing so well?8217; Pat came the reply: 8216;8216;This is what a change of leadership does!8217;8217; The allusion to Advani8212;the BJP8217;s very own Ganguly8212;was not lost on anyone.
