Laloo show: Paswan sore loser

The Paswan supporters drowned out Laloo fans, sending the RJD chief into a deep sulk that lasted through the lunch break in Amritsar. It was Paswan8217;s turn to mope when the team reached Pakistan because from the Wagah border onwards, Laloo stole the show.

He was unquestionably the star attraction from India despite Paswan8217;s efforts to attract some of the limelight by attributing his exit from the Vajpayee Government to the BJP8217;s role in last year8217;s Gujarat riots.

Ultimately, Paswan decided to stay back in Pakistan for an extra day. He is believed to have grumbled to his fellow MPs that he did not want to travel with Laloo because of his irritating antics.

That Dravida divide

One thought that BJP would have learnt its lesson by now of not messing around in Tamil Nadu politics. Obviously it hasn8217;t. Its attempt to pull off a coup by getting traditional rivals DMK and AIADMK both to vote for the Government on the no-confidence motion almost landed it in a soup on the eve of the debate.

DMK boss M. Karunanidhi took offence when he got wind of the plan and warned his BJP interlocutors that if the PM speaks to AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, he would pull out of NDA. Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa threw a tantrum of her own. Defence Minister George Fernandes is believed to have tried to contact her to ask for her party8217;s votes. She refused to take his call, George waited for 24 hours to hear from her, only to be told by her MPs that the AIADMK would at best abstain.

The offer came with another warning. If the PM attempted to talk to Karunanidhi, said Jaya8217;s message, AIADMK would vote against the Government. The PM apparently threw up his hands in disgust and decided not to phone either. He must have reasoned that there was little point in getting caught in the quagmire of Tamilian personality battles.

Women8217;s Bill here is law there

India8217;s women parliamentarians should take some tips from their Pakistani counterparts. The latter have a 17-per cent reserved quota in Pakistan8217;s National Assembly while our women haven8217;t yet managed to get the infamous Women8217;s Reservation Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha for a debate.

The Pakistani system works on pure nominations. For every five male MNAs, a party has to nominate one woman to the Assembly. The scheme was suggested by President Musharraf, who actually proposed 33-per cent reservation for women. He was beaten down by the men and had to settle for 17 per cent. The National Assembly has 72 women members, including 12 elected on their own steam in last year8217;s polls.

Women parliamentarians in Pakistan admit that the system works largely on favours and favourites. And parties like the religious grouping Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal have nominated mostly family members of their leaders.

Nevertheless, the women feel that this is a beginning, however flawed. With so many of them in both the Houses, they hope to form an important lobby. Of course, the National Assembly has to meet on a regular basis first for this. But that8217;s linked to the larger issue of how genuine Pakistan8217;s democracy is.

BJP mood sets tune for dance

Dancers can be astute politicians too. Well-known Bharatnatyam exponent Sonal Mansingh held two shows on consecutive days of her dance programme Asmita last week. The chief guest at the first was Vajpayee and at the next, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. BJP circles are wondering why she went out of her way to honour them separately.