Fly On The Wall

Helping handThe Prime Minister was at his humorous best while releasing the cassette of his poems at the Siri Fort Auditorium last week. ...

Helping hand

The Prime Minister was at his humorous best while releasing the cassette of his poems at the Siri Fort Auditorium last week. Since there was no sur’ (music) in his poems earlier, he was an asur’ (demon). He went to add that because he was an asur’ he could not become a sasur (father-in-law). His foster son-in-law Rajan Bhattacharya was standing by his side. Was the PM conveying any message to his detractors? With each passing day, Vajpayee is leaning more on Ranjan who takes care of him during the campaign.

Coterie rule

The coterie in the Congress has not paid the price for the setbacks Sonia Gandhi and the party suffered. The Panchmarhi declaration conceived by A.K. Antony and Manmohan Singh has been buried. The coterie has devised a new technology to ignore the Central Election Committee, saying the selection of candidates is better left to the Congress president.

The coterie obviously was keen to avoid a discussion on giving ticket to lottery king M.K. Subba from Assamand a person with criminal background from Jhansi. Antony has conveyed to the high command that he may even quit if tainted persons were given the tickets.

Big brother

The other day, Sonia’s virtual number two in the party, Pranab Mukherjee scolded AICC general secretary Ambika Soni for appearing in a television programme without the permission of the media cell headed by him. Soni said she thought she was capable of articulating the party’s policies on the small screen. But Mukherjee was firm.

Time to give

A plot of 3,200 sq. meters has finally been given to the Sangh Parivar by the Urban Development Ministry in the heart of the city. The plot is in the name of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Trust. If the Congress can get scores of plots and buildings during the past 45 years, there is nothing wrong in the BJP getting one during its brief stint. Urban Development minister Jagmohan has also regularised prime land for the VHP in R.K. Puram.

In cold storage

Remember the high-flyingsleuths who probed mega scams? All those who made headlines during the last days of P.V. Narasimha Rao and the heyday of H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral are cooling their heels in insignificant positions. Once the court embargo was lifted on their transfers, they are being transferred to obscurity. B.R. Lall, joint director CBI, of the hawala probe fame is DG (Housing) while D.C. Agrawal, deputy director (investigation) in the Income Tax, has been shunted to Calcutta. A.P. Kala of the Enforcement Directorate is on study leave and another officer R.K. Rawal is handling cases at Ludhiana. Around 20 officers have been paying the price for probing scams.