Instant walk-Out

No official boycott

Though a section of the media made out that there was a boycott of the Karishma Kapoor wedding by those in the Bachchan camp, in fact, the absence of several leading film personalities at the marriage had nothing to do with the famous tiff between two of Bollywood’s most prominent families over a broken engagement.

Shahrukh Khan claimed he was busy with a shoot but the buzz was that he was miffed by an interview given by the bride’s father, Randhir Kapoor, a few days earlier in which he remarked that he had cautioned his daughters not to be arrogant like Shahrukh Khan.

The absence of most of the current crop of top female stars from Rani Mukherjee to Preity Zinta and Aishwarya Rai is attributed to bad vibes between rival actress rather than anything else. The presence at the wedding reception of Chairman of Gammon India, Abhijit Rajan, Amitabh Bachchan’s cousin, Boney Kapoor and Sridevi as well as some prominent Delhi-based businessmen indicated that there was no clear dividing line in the feuding camps.

Consent not forthcoming

George Fernandes’s threat of filing a charge of treason against Sonia Gandhi is not just an off-the-cuff remark. For the last three months, Defence ministry personnel have been keeping recordings of all the Congress president’s speeches in Jammu and Kashmir to make out the case against her.

But Fernandes’ carefully documented chargesheet may come to naught since Prime Minister Vajpayee has so far declined permission for the Defence minister to pursue such a course of action.

Keeping their distance

Ever since Joshi was openly gleeful about the PM’s snub to the DPM on his retirement plans, the two senior BJP leaders have kept their distance. Advani has ensured that Joshi is not summoned for any key brainstorming session in the government or party.

Even when the Rai Bareli verdict on Ayodhya was awaited, Joshi was not invited for future strategy sessions though he was directly concerned. When the media speculated about a possible Joshi-Advani meeting while the PM was away in the USA to sort out the issue of the HRD minister’s resignation, the Advani camp was quick to refute the idea.

Last week while waiting for the PM at the airport lounge Advani deliberately moved away from where Joshi was standing and engaged in a conversation with the service chiefs, while Joshi chatted with Sushma Swaraj and Digvijay Singh. One of Joshi’s first acts after being reinstalled as HRD minister was to ask the PM’s permission to fly to Paris for a UNESCO meet. By being out of the country, Joshi avoided attending Advani’s son’s wedding on Saturday without inviting any comment!

Rebel without a pause

For the Ernakulam by-election octogenarian Congress rebel K Karunakaran made no bones that he was backing the CPI(M) backed independent Sebastian Paul. Since Paul is not a member of the Communist Party he was not entitled to use the hammer and sickle and opted instead for a television symbol as he is a TV critic. Karunakaran at an election rally speech on the eve of the poll on September 23 made his position very clear, announcing , ‘‘In the season of Onam everyone should buy a television, especially on September 23.’’ A day before the poll Karunakaran remarked to a group of TV cameramen that victory would be theirs the next day.

The rebel Congress leader’s strength is that even out of power he can get more done for his supporters than A K Antony as chief minister. Karunakaran is an old-fashioned politician who believes in encashing IOUs and has developed a state-wide network of loyalists among police officers, civil servants and party workers. Karunakaran, after his latest triumph, is convinced is that with the blessing of Guruvayur deity — he visits the temple faithfully every month — he will become chief minister yet again.