No back-bencher

First-time MPs joke that they are part of the BBC brigade, or the back-benchers8217; club, since they are still learning the ropes.

First-time MPs joke that they are part of the BBC brigade, or the back-benchers8217; club, since they are still learning the ropes. But Karunanidhi8217;s daughter, Kanimozhi, although new to Parliament, is already making her presence felt. Unlike her good friend Supriya Sule 8212; Sharad Pawar8217;s daughter, who8217;s in the mould of a non-partisan, dedicated NGO activist 8212; Kanimozhi is extremely political in her responses.

When she was handed her cellphone from Parliament, Kanimozhi noticed that the last four digits were 1967 and pointed out that it was lucky for her since it was the year the DMK came to power. She won the hearts of Tamil journalists in Delhi by ensuring that their long-pending demand for a media room in Tamil Nadu Bhavan was sanctioned within a day. With Kanimozhi slated to get a ministerial berth, both DMK and Congress ministers are apprehensive that she may have an eye on their portfolios.

Unflagging vim

INDUSTRIALIST Navin Jindal is not your run-of-the-mill politician. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Parliament8217;s Central Hall to address the MPs, Jindal, in a friendly informal gesture, broke protocol and pinned an Indian flag on Abe while wishing him good morning, to the consternation of the security guards. After Abe8217;s address many MPs carelessly threw copies of his speech on the floor. Jindal, disturbed by the mess, requested the watch-and-ward staff to clear up. They declined to do so, explaining it was not their job. Jindal quietly picked up the discarded papers and placed them neatly on a chair. His civic-mindedness earned plaudits from both L.K. Advani and Rahul Gandhi.

Agree to disagree

THAT L.K. Advani is in control once again is apparent from the way he single-handedly attempted to change the BJP8217;s position on the Indo-US nuclear deal. He is silently backed by a powerful section of the RSS, which is influenced by US-based NRI supporters. Despite denials, the BJP may eventually support the treaty. But there is no unanimity within the NDA on the issue. Sharad Yadav, president of the JDU, says his party will agree to disagree with the BJP if it changes its stand on the treaty.

Mother figure

UTTAR Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, hailed for her rainbow coalition of castes, now wants to project that her inclusive policy includes religious communities. A big board outside Mayawati8217;s Delhi residence on Humayun Road announces that the Shri Ram Rahim Trust has declared her the 8216;Mother of Secularism8217;. The poster depicts Mayawati smiling beatifically, as a ray of light beams down on her with all the religious symbols in India in the picture.

Limiting option

THE prime minister8217;s Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair and a senior home ministry official visited the Election Commission to meet Justice Kuldip Singh, chairperson of the Delimitation Commission. This fuelled rumours that the government was in poll mode. There is consensus among political parties that the readjusted boundaries of constituencies and reservation of SC-ST constituencies decided by the delimitation commission should not come into effect before the elections, no matter when they are held. Unless the government formally notifies the delimitation, the old constituencies, which have been in place since 1971, will continue. Many political heavyweights, including L.K. Advani, Somnath Chatterjee, Shivraj Patil, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and Sachin Pilot, stand to lose their constituencies, were delimitation to come into effect.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet ACC is supposedly responsible for all senior government placements. The curious part is that the committee never actually meets. The concerned file is simply circulated to the three members, the prime minister, the home minister and the concerned minister. That the ACC is simply a rubber stamp to clear decisions already taken elsewhere was confirmed last week. The government counsel told the Central Administrative Tribunal CAT, in the case filed by Veena Sikri, questioning the appointment of the foreign secretary, that an order was passed in May 2004 giving the prime minister the power to make the appointment on his own, and that only ex-post facto approval of the other two committee members was required. In which case, why go through with the charade of an ACC at all?