Dreaded wake-up call

Reservations about Gandhinagar

The most outraged reaction to L K Advani’s remarks on Jinnah in Pakistan came from Gujarat, the State which sends the BJP president to Parliament. Camp followers of political rivals Narendra Modi and Keshubhai Patel were for once on the same side, protesting against Advani’s certificate for the founder of Pakistan. Some in Gujarat even speculated as to whether Advani would stand from the Gandhinagar constituency in the next parliamentary poll. (Advani has won consistently from the Gandhinagar constituency since 1980, except in 1984 when he stood from New Delhi).

The question of whether or not Advani would stand from Gandhinagar may be academic. A delimitation exercise is underway in Gujarat and the recommendation from the state electoral officer is that Gandhinagar should be categorised as a reserved seat for scheduled castes. Until now the neighbouring constituency of Dhandhunka was reserved.

Another TN scribe

The acerbic Cho Ramaswami, editor of Tughlaq, is to retire from the Rajya Sabha before the year-end. The CPI(M) general secretary, Prakash Karat, is pushing hard for his good friend N Ram, editor of The Hindu as Cho’s replacement.

The Congress is agreeable to the idea of nominating Ram to Parliament in the eminent persons category.

Top heavy or over the top?

Work in the Gandhinagar Secretariat practically came to a standstill for three days last week. Most of the senior secretaries, including the chief secretary, had left town as they were ordered to accompany Education Minister Anandibehn Patel on a tour of the countryside. Patel had requested her mentor, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, for help in her drive to enrol more girls in rural schools. Modi promptly instructed all his high power secretaries to accompany the minister. The CM should have realised that a phalanx of top bureaucrats can contribute little to the campaign. Their presence might have helped activate the local administration temporarily, but the key to the success of the programme is to ensure that the girls remain in school long after the VIPs have left the village. Only the grassroot workers can help out in this.

Hunt for royal tiger

With the police on the lookout for him, Tiger Pataudi, who is accused of shooting a black buck, telephoned a fellow royal, who is a regular at Page 3 parties, and asked if he could spend the night at his residence in Delhi. The businessman assured Pataudi he was most welcome but warned that he had a party that night to which animal rights activists Maneka Gandhi and her sister Ambica had been invited. Pataudi quickly decided that it would be safer to look elsewhere for shelter.

It is suspected that Pataudi, who had evaded appearing before the police till Saturday, had shifted base to Chandigarh, where Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is an old friend. Where Singh’s sympathies lie is obvious. The former palaces of the Patiala royal family, to which Singh belongs, are filled with hunting trophies. A month back, the Punjab government passed an executive order stating that hunting trophies are legal provided you declare them, and strangely there is no cut-off date for declaration in the order.

Minor changes in carving Cabinet

The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle is likely to take place by the end of this month. But there may be few major surprises. The Big Three in the Cabinet are not going to be touched. An earlier proposal to induct leaders with proven administrative experiences such as former chief ministers Digvijay Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde and S M Krishna has also been shot down since there are no fresh Rajya Sabha seats available till next March and a minister has to be elected to Parliament within six months of his oath-taking.

Jaipal Reddy, presently I&B and Culture Minister, is likely to lose one portfolio. The flamboyant Tourism Minister, Renuka Chaudhary, may have to make way for NTR’s daughter, Purandareswari.

Lateral transfer

Most officials in PMO have tenures almost co-terminous with the prime minister who inducts them. Major Rohit Khera is an exception who has worked in the PMO for 13 years. Khera, who was recruited by Narasimha Rao as an OSD, has continued under all subsequent prime ministers, from Deve Gowda and I K Gujral to A B Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. While some may try to read special meaning into the recent transfer orders of the low-key and well-liked officer, Khera, in fact, is joining as a joint secretary in the National Security Council, which is directly under the PMO.