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Journalism of Courage
Sour friendship
The rift between Amitabh Bachchan and Sonia Gandhi is now public. In her television interview with Vir Sanghvi, Sonia refers to her friendship with Amitabh in the past tense, even though the question put to her by Sanghvi was about Arun Singh and Arun Nehru and not Bachchan.
Doublejinx
The choice of dates for Sonia Gandhi8217;s first press conference was between August 12 and August 13. August 12 was an inauspicious moonless amawasya and therefore a no no for many partymen. But August 13 was Friday the 13th, and according to western superstition equally unlucky. The party finally decided that it was better to ward off desi jinxes rather than go by videshi superstition. So the manifesto release was held on Friday 13 at 10 a.m. But what the organisers had forgotten was that the highly inauspicious rahu kalam period was at its peak at 10.30 a.m. that day.
Orthodox Congressmen, particularly those from the South were aghast. They recalled that it was on a Sunday in April 1991 that Rajiv Gandhi released the Congress manifesto at Jawahar Bhawan 8212; which later became headquarters for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation 8212; during the inauspicious Rahu Kalam, even though he was advised to choose a more propitious time.
New sensation
When T.N. Seshan was Chief Election Commissioner hethreatened to disqualify Manmohan Singh and I.K. Gujral among others for not being genuine residents of the states they represented in the Rajya Sabha. Now Seshan himself has become a carpetbagger. He has transferred from Tamil Nadu to Gujarat to contest against L.K. Advani in Gandhinagar, though admittedly there is no restriction on Lok Sabha MPs contesting from other states.
Seshan8217;s choice as the Congress candidate angered several party leaders who were not consulted on the nomination. The abrasive Seshan had rubbed them the wrong way as CEC. K. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, for instance, recalls how disrespectfully Seshan treated him as Law Minister, keeping him waiting for long before granting him an audience.
During Seshan8217;s ill-advised contest against K.R. Narayanan for President, it was the Shiv Sena and not the Congress which supported him. More recently, Seshan was hobnobbing with the AIADMK in the hope that he would get nominated for the South Madras constituency. He also canvassed with a BJP MP for aticket from Tamil Nadu citing his knowledge of the Hindu scriptures and saffron leanings as his plus point. Seshan8217;s candidature from Gandhinagar was reportedly proposed by a leading industrial house which has a score to settle with the Home Minister.
Wedding Tent
Journalists were dazzled by the opulence and meticulous planning which marked the release of the NDA manifesto. A plush tent was erected at Pramod Mahajan8217;s residence. The lavish buffet offered an assortment of vegetarian, non-vegetarian, south Indian and Chinese fare and a choice of five desserts. Attractive young girls acted as ushers. A throne-like chair with an Ashoka pillar crest carved on it was reserved for Atal Behari Vajpayee. The canned sound of the bursting of fire crackers came through the loud speakers the moment the manifesto was released by Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Even the usual unseemly scramble among the scribes to grab a copy of the press note was averted, the organisers having strategically placed baskets with presskits all over the venue along with helpful attendants. The manifesto was printed on the best glossy foreign paper available. If the function reminded one of an upmarket Delhi wedding, it was not surprising since the arrangements for the do were handled not by the BJP party regulars or other constituents of the NDA. The show was entirely the handiwork of Mahajan8217;s private army, with his good friend and Delhi8217;s best-known tent contractor and caterer Sidanshu Mittal being in charge of the operation.
