Fly on the wall

Priyanka's firepowerRahul Gandhi may be roughing it out with his mother in her election tours through the length and the breadth of the c...

Priyanka8217;s firepower

Rahul Gandhi may be roughing it out with his mother in her election tours through the length and the breadth of the country but it is his younger sister Priyanka who is stage-managing the whole show from New Delhi. She has restricted her appearances to the two crucial constituencies: Bellary, where she8217;s already been, and Amethi, later in the month.

For now, she is handling Sonia Gandhi8217;s speeches as also backgrounders to the places the Congress President is to visit. The daughter8217;s poll duty extends to getting ready her mother8217;s saris for the next trip. Mani Shanker Aiyer, Jairam Ramesh and Janardhan Dwivedi who give the finishing touches to Sonia8217;s speeches in the two languages have to wait for Priyanka8217;s go-ahead late in the night before the prints are out.

Sonia8217;s latest diatribe against the Prime Minister is being attributed to Priyanka. It was apparently Priyanka8217;s idea to hit the enemy8217;s raw nerve and mention Vajpayee8217;s alleged kowtowing to the British in 1942.

Ithad the desired effect: BJP leaders have backed down and agreed not to run a personalised campaign against Sonia. But Priyanka and Rahul say that the daggers are drawn; ceasefire will be called only after the polls.

No silver spoon

Who says Ranjan Bhattacharya is the Prime Minister8217;s foster son-in-law? The media may have coined the phrase, but his status vis-a-vis security cover in this case no security cover has remained unchanged. The Special Protection Group Act provides for the immediate family members of the PM and ex-PMs. Even those who face no threat to their lives have thrown their weight around and are now moving around in bullet-proof cars all over town.

Strangely, not even a constable shadows Ranjan a privilege extended to any ordinary politician by the Union Home Ministry. Reason? When the Secretary Security had moved the file for information on the PM8217;s immediate family, it went without Ranjan8217;s name. Some satisfaction to those gunning for Baapji8217;s foster family.

Sorry,Kant

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The Vajpayee government even had the Vice-President upset. His request for an Air India Maharaja to fly him to central Asian republics was turned down. He had to make do with Indian Air Force8217;s Boeing 737 instead. The public sector aviation company expressed its inability to spare an aircraft at a time when it was suffering huge losses. Withdrawal of an aircraft would have upset flight schedule and passenger traffic, they explained with due apologies.

Bhure on a slide

Bhure Lal, a tireless crusader against corruption and a secretary in the Central Vigilance Commission, is out of favour. He will be the last one to be promoted to the rank of Secretary among his fellow IAS batchmates. A V.P. Singh favourite, who was hot on the trail of those who received kickbacks in the Bofors gun deal, Bhure Lal is currently awaiting a fresh posting. He was to take over as secretary, health. But his luck ran out again.

The post now being considered for him is Secretary Ayuveda 8212; one of the foursecretary-level posts which the Vajpayee government had promised to abolish last year.