Fly on the wall

Brajesh speakBoth Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and Jaswant Singh seemed to havebeen working hard at winning over the Americans, what...

Brajesh speak
Both Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and Jaswant Singh seemed to havebeen working hard at winning over the Americans, what with the ExternalAffairs Minister involved in track-II diplomacy.

But it was Mishra who blinked first when US President Bill Clintoncommented that Kashmir is a disputed8217; territory. Mishra8217;s public outburstthat the US had no business in doing so sent Clinton team8217;s into a tizzy,and a compromise was hatched: the joint declaration would not make noreference to Kashmir and non-proliferation.

Shanta grounded
The duel between Food Minister Shanta Kumar and Himachal Pradesh GovernorPrem Kumar Dhumal is far from over, despite the Prime Minister8217;sintervention.

Though both exchange pleasantries when they meet at official dos, bothcannot see eye-to-eye. After the recent floods in Himachal Pradesh, ShantaKumar rushed to the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister seekingemergency aid. Nitish Kumar, being Shanta8217;s Cabinet colleague, promptlyagreed to release Rs 100 crore.

Shanta Kumar even proposed that Nitish should conduct an aerial survey. Anenthused Shanta Kumar picked up the phone and dialled Dhumal on his directline to request that the state government8217;s helicopter be spared for a day.

Dhumal agreed, but the helicopter never came on the given date since itdeveloped a 8220;technical snag8221;. What8217;s new, ask Himachalis. It8217;s only arepeat of what they had witnessed between Virbhadra Singh and Sukh Ramduring the Congress regime.

Dreaming on DD
Pritish Nandy sure is ambitious. Though he owes DD Rs 3.50 crore, he bid forthe marketing rights of the Sydney Olympics for Rs 15 crore. Since thecompany had not been black-listed and time was running out, DD officialsfound it difficult to reject his bid.

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Nandy was also asked to give a bank guarantee for the same amount, but hecould cough up only Rs 7.50 crore, saying his company8217;s public issue is inthe pipeline.

The Vigilance Commission is now looking into complaints that certain privatecompanies, including Nandy8217;s, have got programmes worth crores of rupeesfrom Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Maneka Gandhi and RuralDevelopment Minister Sunderlal Patwa without tenders. Even the HealthMinistry is awarding several contracts to private producers.

The author can be contacted at harishgupta45hotmail.com