Not very neighbourly

Warring Ammas

Tamil actress Khushboo seems to be a victim of the ongoing cold war between the two Ammas, that is Peryamma (big mother) Jaylalithaa, and Chinnamma (small mother) Sashikala. It was only after Jaya sent out signals that the vicious campaign against Khushboo gained momentum. This has come as a shock to the owners of Jaya TV since Khushboo anchors a very popular programme on the channel and it was the rival Sun TV which was targeting her. (Jaya TV may be named after the AIADMK supremo, but it is owned and run by Sashikala’s family.)

For the last two months, all is not well between the two close friends. The rift was first noticed in September. Some ascribed it to the discovery of copper plates associated with tantric rites during the renovation at Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden house to make it more vaastu friendly. Jayalalithaa has of late vented her fury on several individuals considered close to Sashikala, including the MD of TASMAC and the deputy mayor of Chennai.

Storm over teacup

Former Delhi strongman Madan Lal Khurana is getting increasingly disillusioned with his party. Two months back, the Delhi State BJP president Dr Harsh Vardhan threw the old tea-stall owner out of the party office at Pandit Pant Marg and installed his own nominee despite Khurana’s protests. Khurana, as Delhi party president, had way back in 1989 invited the old tea vendor to set up shop at the party office since he had promised his father, an old time RSS and BJP worker, on his deathbed that he would ensure that his son was gainfully employed. Vardhan was unmoved by Khurana’s story or the fact that the new tea-stall has upped the price of a cup of tea from Rs 2 to Rs 4.

Khurana, incidentally, insists that the Poorvanchal Association, which he launched recently along with other BJP dissidents like Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad is not a display of rebellion, but a smart political move, considering that 50 per cent of the capital’s population is from UP and Bihar. In fact, Khurana plans to start a Punjabi association on similar lines shortly.

People’s President

President A P J Abdul Kalam’s favourite spot in Rashtrapati Bhawan is the TI room (short for technology interface) next to his study. The room, which functions around the clock is fitted with half-a-dozen computers and three large plasma screens. ISRO has established satellite connectivity.

From the TI room, Kalam holds teleconferences with people from all over the country. Recently he held a simultaneous virtual university session with students from Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. At another interactive session on education, the President spoke to an audience in the Doordarshan studio as well as panchayats in UP, Andhra and Karnataka. Last week, a website organised a chat show for youths on Children’s Day. There were over 4,000 questions put to him of which Kalam answered 61.

Kalam is happy to answer queries on all manner of subjects, other than politics. He refuses to comment on queries as to whether relations between him and the government are somewhat strained, in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment on Bihar.

Long and short of it

Within hours of losing his External Affairs portfolio, Natwar Singh showed up at a State banquet for Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Klaus. The organisers, who had assumed that Natwar would stay away, had to hastily change the designation on his nameplate from Minister of External Affairs to Senior Minister. To the embarrassment of the Congress, Natwar refuses to go into hiding and was very visible throughout last week, whether attending The Hindustan Times conference or the wedding of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla’s daughter.

Natwar insists on attending Cabinet meetings. He is, however, no longer included in the Cabinet sub-committees of which the government claims he was a member earlier by virtue of his office. To make sure that he gets the point there was a presidential notice this week re-constituting the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Natwar, incidentally, is anxious to distance himself from the remark attributed to him on Pranab Mukherjee’s short stature. Natwar claimed to Mukherjee he had merely described him as ‘‘a most effective pocket-sized battleship which can take on an aircraft carrier’’. ‘‘I am not six feet myself so I am hardly likely to joke about his height,’’ insists Natwar, who says both ministers laughed away the misunderstanding. But that still does not explain who Natwar was alluding to as ‘‘an aircraft carrier’’.