More down to earth

Did Congress President Sonia Gandhi have some foreboding about the humiliating defeat in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls? Else why should she have stopped Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh from attending the World Economic Forum summit at Davos on January 25? 8220;Emerging Maharashtra8221; was the theme at the meet and the state government had arranged for Deshmukh to meet delegates at a breakfast meeting, spending over Rs 60 lakh for the gala. But when the Congress president heard about Deshmukh8217;s plans, she promptly had Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil calling him up and asking the chief minister to cancel his plans. Sonia had read the omens correctly.

Regular appointment

The UPA Government may have appointed helicopter pilot Air Marshal Fali Major as Chief of Air Staff last week, but the top brass of the Indian Air Force knew it was coming nearly a year ago. Major8217;s predecessor, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, used to consult him on all important staff and operational appointments and even though many were sceptical whether a helicopter pilot could be appointed to head a fighter pilot-dominated air force, Tyagi was never in doubt.

Down, not out

If anyone is wondering why HRD Minister Arjun Singh has been so quiet these days, it8217;s his health. The new Mandal champion has been indisposed since December 20, neither attending office nor meeting his officers. Shastri Bhavan is abuzz with daily updates on their minister though close aides refute any reports of serious trouble. Singh has been on a pacemaker since late December and his family physician, Dr B N Sahi, an ex-army doctor, has got him admitted to the Army R038;R hospital, instead of AIIMS. We wish him a quick recovery.

Non-violent gaffes

Union minister Anand Sharma is basking in the glory of the international conference on Satyagraha that he organised, but his rather non-Gandhian attitude has left many senior leaders in the Congress red-faced. There were just too many slips. Party veteran Motilal Vora was told by Sharma to talk to his junior when he wanted some info on the conference, then AICC general secretaries did not get the invites in time for a lunch hosted by the prime minister on the inaugural day. After that it was the turn of a furious Sonia Gandhi to set about rearranging the messy venue. The party8217;s chief spokesperson, Abhishek Singhvi, retreated to Ranthambhore hurt after he was nominated as a mere member of the media committee for the conference. Senior general secretary Janardan Dwivedi disappeared for the two days of the meet, pleading he was busy with the Punjab polls. The most embarrassing moment was when Sharma8217;s personnel staff put guest of honour, former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda, in a bus to be ferried to and from the venue. Even profuse apologies would not suffice for these gaffes.

High thinking

Though the CPWD has taken its own sweet time in readying the new office of the Minorities Affairs minister, it heeded to the only demand put forward by Minister A R Antulay8212;a private elevator to his chambers. Antulay has reasons for this; his office at Paryavaran Bhavan at the CGO complex has dozens of offices and being on the 11th floor meant he would waste considerable time waiting for the common lift that carried visitors, officials and ministers alike.

Poster boy

In the glossy Republic Day brochure, the Defence Ministry strategically inserted a photograph of President APJ Abdul Kalam strapped into an IAF Russian-origin Su-30MKI fighter8212;the Supreme Commander was snapped just before he took a spin in June last year. And the photo turned out to be a real conversation starter on the VVIP dais on Rajpath at the R-Day parade8212;chief guest Russian President Vladimir Putin was delighted with the photo. He and Kalam were seen talking animatedly and pointing to the photograph. Rashtrapati Bhavan is so happy with the MoD that it has requested it for the full collection of photographs taken on that day. The MoD is getting busy.

Relative popularity

Union minister Sharad Pawar was among the invitees to the opening ceremony of the Satyagraha conference, but he did not turn up. However, to make up, he promised to come for the concluding session, and also requested an invite for daughter Supriya Sule, a Rajya Sabha MP. Both attended the event and it is now becoming apparent that Sule has endeared herself to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and calls on her often. Apart from that, many Congress leaders are 8220;uncle8221; and 8220;aunty8221; to her.

Tri-umphant

With the setting up of a Chief of Defence Staff CDS not happening, the tri-services Integrated Defence Staff IDS is notionally, though a little unfairly, looked upon as a dumping ground for officers in the twilight of their careers. Everyone knows if you get posted to IDS, it8217;s over. But with the government choosing Air Marshal Fali Major as the next Chief of Air Staff, a helicopter pilot and Deputy Chief Operations of the IDS in 2004-05, the tri-service fraternity popped the bubbly. And it isn8217;t chewing its words either. 8220;The fraternity is proud of the fact that he is the first officer who has ascended to the chief8217;s rank with hardcore tri-service experience,8221; it said in a government-endorsed press release.

Tailpiece

CWC member Veerappa Moily has become a man of letters and colleagues in the party are finding it difficult to douse his eureka moments. A week after he wrote and circulated a note on SEZs8212;which no one in the party had asked him to8212;Moily was back with a paper on 8220;administrative reforms8221; to be included in a booklet that was distributed at the Satyagraha Conference. Despite protests from several leaders that the paper was not in tune with the Gandhi theme, Moily8217;s insistence won. Lest anyone doubt his scholarship, Moily8217;s article liberally dropped names8212;from Philip Mason and Peter Drucker to Goethe, Manmohan Singh and, of course, Mahatma Gandhi. We can be sure there will be more from Moily.