Peeved, but some reprieve

Connecting links

The news that Natwar Singh’s name figured in the Volcker report did not take the Congress party by total surprise. Ever since an Iraqi newspaper reported an Indian connection in early 2004 and named Hamdan, some sensed trouble. (The NDA government incidentally had instructed investigative agencies to look into the allegations). Even back in 2001, shortly after Natwar’s visit to Iraq, the buzz in the party was that Jagat Singh had struck a lucrative deal. Some wondered why Natwar’s son should be singled out for special favours. After all Salman Khurshid had led a party delegation to Iraq a year earlier. Najma Heptullah, during her Iraq visit, met Saddam in person and received a warm bear hug. Another senior Congress leader had even named his son after Saddam.

In fact India’s share of the oil-for-food largesse at a mere eight million barrels of oil is peanuts compared to the enormous quantities doled out to other countries. Which has led some to wonder if the miniscule Indian allocation was a side deal and an afterthought.

Jagat is not the only well-connected person linked to the scandal. Vikas Dhar, a partner in Hamdan, is the grandson of D P Dhar who was a principal adviser to Indira Gandhi. Andaleep Sehgal’s father-in-law Vijayendra Singh Nallagharh is a former Congress MLA. Gharekhan, who has worked under Rajiv Gandhi in the PMO, was on the UN’s committee. He was appointed as our special envoy to West Asia by Natwar Singh when he became minister.

In the shade

Now that there is no Cabinet rank minister in the Ministry of External Affairs one would think the two Ministers of State should finally emerge out of the woodwork and garner some of the limelight in this high profile ministry.

However, Rao Inderjit Singh, who is in charge of Latin America and Eastern Europe, is completely overshadowed by the more resourceful E Ahmed. The lone MP from the Indian Union Muslim League knows how to make his presence felt. In fact, when Indians were taken hostage in Iraq last year Ahmed flogged his minority status and Malayali network to good advantage and took over the daily press briefings. Once again Ahmed has stolen a march over Rao and been deputed to stand in for Natwar at the SAARC summit.

Still pending

The panel of 1972 batch IAS officers who are to be made full Secretaries has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and the Group of Eminent Persons. The Prime Minister has signed the file. But the establishment officer in the Department of Personnel has sat over it for the last ten days. The department has been instructed orally to keep the file pending since one or two names may yet be added or deleted.

Modi defined victory

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has emerged more powerful than ever, winning 96 of the 129 seats in the Ahmedabad municipality and 39 out of the 49 nagar pallikas in the State. The opposition to Modi ranged from the Congress to the RSS and VHP and included BJP heavyweights like Keshubhai Patel and Kashiram Rana. Modi is so chuffed with the results that he is even cultivating non-BJP friends and keeps in touch with both Sharad Pawar and Jayalalithaa.

The powerful line-up against Modi seems to have actually worked in his favour. Muslims abstained from the polls, perhaps pleased that the Chief Minister had several VHP leaders in Ahmedabad raided on the eve of the poll. Attempts to rally farmers and industrialists against Modi for his crackdown on electricity theft backfired. Modi’s expensive campaign posters promising the voters water if they stopped power theft seems to have clicked with Gujaratis.

Nose out of joint

Last week, there was a spat in my lane in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin East because the crew-cut guest of a next-door neighbour aggressively insisted on his exclusive right to park his limousine at a particular spot. I did not peep from my balcony to see what the ruckus was about as it smacked of a mohalla mentality.

A few days later, half-a-dozen men in plainclothes turned up at 3 am flashing official badges and ordered the terrified chowkidar to open the gates to the lane. The penny dropped only the next day. The night time drama in our lane was because of Andaleep Sehgal and Jagat Singh. I had failed to sniff out the fact that both were living in an apartment next door. Jagat, in fact, was the man insisting on special parking rights. I had unfortunately ignored the old adage in journalism, if you look hard enough you will find the truth right under your nose!