Even The PM Is Not Spared

To make matters worse, Modi reached the Jamnagar airport late and the PM had to sit twiddling his thumbs inside his plane for almost 15 minutes. Angered by this show of bad form, Vajpayee is believed to have ticked Modi off. You should have skipped one meeting if the logistics were so difficult, he told the CM. Better that than walking out halfway.

Actually It8217;s Kamal Nath Vs Jaitley

The Shankersinh Vaghela versus Narendra Modi battle apart, the Gujarat Assembly elections are also about the war of backroom boys Kamal Nath and Arun Jaitley, both of whom know that their political future is tied to the outcome of the elections.

Correspondents visiting Gujarat were amused to find Nath and Jaitley almost obsessive in their eagerness to rubbish the other8217;s tactics and strategies. Nath would smirk that Jaitley had never contested an election in his life and knew next to nothing about poll management.

And Jaitley would snap that Nath was merely a one-constituency man and Gujarat was not Chhindwara.

Ironically, there is more similarity between them than they realise. Both are non-Gujarati city slickers hoping to make their political fortunes in Gandhinagar.

Saying It In Punjabi

Punjab Congress MP Jagmeet Singh Brar made history of sorts in the Lok Sabha last week when he spoke in Punjabi during a debate on the plight of farmers. Apparently, it was the first time that an MP from Punjab, Akali or Congress, had addressed the House in the language.

Of course, Brar speaks perfectly good Hindi and English but in a fit of parochial pride, he seems to have decided to make a point on behalf of his Punjabi brethren. It took him several months of lobbying with late Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balalyogi to get Parliament to employ a Punjabi interpreter.

The idea got fellow Congress MP Rama Pilot so excited that after Brar finished his speech, she stood up and asked to be allowed to speak in Punjabi too. Unfortunately, it was an impromptu request and the interpreter had already gone off for a tea break.

Full Bloom Sycophancy

Congress leaders have honed chamchagiri to such a fine art that they are adept enough to wriggle through any roadblock Sonia Gandhi may put up to keep sycophancy out. This year, the orders from 10 Janpath for Sonia8217;s birthday were austerity. No gifts, no lavish bouquets, no tamasha. Worried loyalists put their heads together and came up with a novel idea to please their leader. Every office bearer would present Sonia with a single flower and a donation for the AICC Relief Fund.

On the eve of her birthday, midnight instructions went out from the Congress headquarters to all office bearers and senior leaders present in Delhi. Sure enough, like obedient soldiers, they queued up at Sonia8217;s residence the next morning clutching the mandatory flower and an envelope. Sonia herself was quite bemused by the spectacle and she was heard asking the reason why everyone who came to wish her was presenting her with an envelope.