Buck doesn146;t stop here

The Nanavati Commission concludes, as did other such commissions before it, that the attacks on Delhi Sikhs in 1984 8216;8216;were made in...

The Nanavati Commission concludes, as did other such commissions before it, that the attacks on Delhi Sikhs in 1984 8216;8216;were made in a systematic fashion and without much fear of the police. But for the backing and help of influential and resourceful persons, killing of Sikhs so swiftly and in large numbers could not have happened.8217;8217; Obviously, the Delhi Congress MPs whose names figure in the report were not acting on their own, yet Justice Nanavati has made little attempt to find out at whose bidding they were operating.

Former Congress MP from Karol Bagh Dharam Das Shastri in an interview some 15 years ago pointed a finger at his seniors in the party and specifically mentioned Arun Nehru, who at that time though just an MP was already part of a powerful coterie. After he spoke publicly, his partymen claimed that Shastri had lost his mental balance and should not be taken seriously. Shastri disappeared so completely from public life that when the Nanavati report was released several newspapers reported that Shastri was dead. In fact, Shastri had left town a day earlier for Jaipur and when correspondents tried to contact him in Jaipur, they were informed that he had moved on to Tonk.

Bridging the ownership gap

The Rajahmundry municipal corporation in Andhra Pradesh is keen to build an amusement park with a 135-year-old bridge across the river Godavari as its focal point. The railway bridge, built by Sir Arthur Cotton, is the oldest bridge in the state and has been declared a heritage monument. The municipality has not, however, managed so far to persuade the Railway Ministry to hand over the bridge to the corporation on a 90-year lease. The corporation8217;s case is that the Railways has no use for its property which was abandoned two decades ago when it built a rail bridge.

Rajahmundry MP Aruna Kumar Vundavalli accompanied by Jairam Ramesh met Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav last week in Parliament to plead for the transfer of the bridge8217;s ownership.

Yadav was non-committal and said he would have to study the papers first.

Speaking for his position

This session Parliament has brought out a book on Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee8217;s 365 days in office with over two dozen colour pictures. The Opposition terms this as self aggrandisement and questions the Speaker8217;s increasingly pro-active role whether it is calling for the abolishing of the MPs Local Area Development scheme or setting up his own committees on his pet subjects, such as the MPLAD scheme or water harvesting, even though there are already various parliamentary standing committees and consultative committees in place. His admirers dismiss such talk as petty and point out that Chatterjee is concerned not in elevating himself, but simply giving due consequence to the position of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Tricolour co-ordination

BJP MP Manvendra Singh is planning to write a letter to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee pointing out that all of the numerous paintings of national heroes in Parliament8217;s Central Hall it is curious that the national flag is visible only in the three portraits of Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Manvendra who has persuaded Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s son, to append his signature to his plaint, feels that it cannot be a mere coincidence that the tricolour has been reserved only for the Nehru-Gandhi family and is not seen in all the backdrops of the other portraits from Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar to Savarkar and Sardar Patel.

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It is difficult to see what the young MPs expect the Speaker to do. Chatterjee can hardly order tri-colours painted on existing portraits and there are unlikely to be any fresh portraits since there is hardly any wall space left.

Reunion in Bihar

Ravi Shankar Prasad and Digvijay Singh, both of whom are actively involved in the electoral campaigns for their respective parties in Bihar, greeted each other effusively when they met last week in Parliament.

8216;8216;Abhinandan8217;8217; Greetings yelled Prasad to Singh. 8216;8216;Abhar8217;8217;Thanks responded Singh equally cordially adding sarcastically 8216;8216;When are you sending Umaji?8216;8217; referring to the fact that Uma Bharati has been appointed as Arun Jaitley8217;s deputy in the BJP8217;s poll campaign in Bihar. 8216;8216;Not just Bharati, Jaitley will also be coming shortly8217;8217; Prasad assured him. With Digvijay taking over from Arjun Singh, M.L. Fotedar and Harikesh Bahadur in Bihar and Jaitley and Bharati handling the campaign for the BJP, it will be an encore of sorts for the three political rivals who last sparred with each other two years back during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly poll.

No room to manoeuvre

Ram Vilas Paswan continues to rebuff efforts to make him join forces with the RJD. Closer to the polls, the Congress could resort to strong-arm tactics and strip him of his Cabinet portfolios if he insists on acting as spoiler and fielding his candidates against the RJD. Paswan8217;s problem is that he will have no face left in his home state if he allies himself with Laloo, after abusing him roundly and bringing about the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly. His detractors quote the popular couplet to describe his dilemma.

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8216;8216;Dushmani karo to itni, gunjaish rakho ki kal phir dost bane to sharminda nahi hona pade.8217;8217; Problem is that Paswan has not kept any room open for reconciliation with Laloo.