PM in the gunsight

The Naxals are bent on creating havoc in the country, that8217;s quite clear. But they have also succeeded in splitting the Union Cabinet. At a recent cabinet meeting, Home Minister Shivraj Patil found his colleagues on the other side of the fence when the Naxalites were discussed. Patil proposed the setting up of an anti-Naxal cell in his ministry, only to have Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi intervening to say this was a political issue and the cell should devise a strategy against all left wing extremism. Then Arjun Singh bluntly said the Home Ministry was unable to handle the problem. An agitated home minister told the HRD minister that he had not only handled the Naxalite problem but could also provide details about the situation in Kashmir and in other troublespots to prove how well his ministry had fared on the internal security front.

Home body

So Mr Patil, you claim to have done a lot. Then why was India missing at the SAARC home minister8217;s conference in Dhaka? Patil was to attend the meeting with Home Secretary Vinod Duggal. But he cried off, saying Parliament was in session and he needed to be around. As a result, India could not raise the issues of terrorism and narcotics control with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

India suffers from both, yet was unable to state its case when an opportunity arose.

On your mark

Four months may be a short time, but in the bureaucracy it can prove a long wait. Especially when it concerns the post of the Foreign Secretary. Shyam Saran will complete his term in September. And the buzz about who will replace him has already started. The talk so far has been to bring in someone who will have at least two years at the post, in line with the precedent set when Saran himself was given the job. Working on this assumption, the MEA is learnt to have asked from the government if it favoured appointing someone junior since the serving seniors have to be accommodated if the answer was in the affirmative. Current frontrunners: Shiv Shankar Menon, India8217;s High Commissioner to Pakistan, and T C A Rangachari, the Indian Ambassador to France. While Menon is favoured by nearly all at South Block, Rangachari has the backing of National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

Info tack

It seems each day the Indian bureaucray finds new ways to stretch the red tape just that bit more. News is that the Asian Development Bank is keen on lending to Indian companies, a recent foray for the bank along the same line as the World Bank which also lends to the private sector through its arm, IFC. Finance Minister P Chidambaram was gladdened by the idea and said, 8216;8216;We want them to lend, especially to infrastructure projects.8217;8217; But trust the babus. They told the ADB, 8216;8216;Just keep us informed, you don8217;t need our clearance.8217;8217; Now, here8217;s what 8216;8216;keep us informed8217;8217; means, according to a bank official: Every time a private company and the bank schedule a meeting, the ministry needs to be informed, even if it is only to discuss a loan, forget sanctioning of one.

Post-win post search

The mother has spoken and the son is now following it up. Flush with victory in Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi said son Rahul 8220;may take up a party position8221;, sparking off wild speculations of what the fifth generation Gandhi intended to do. None8212;not even those close to the Family8212;seem to know what8217;s on Rahul8217;s mind. 8216;8216;Only he has to decide what he wants. Nobody else is involved,8217;8217; a friend family says. If these are hints, then Rahul is taking keen interest in the workings of the Youth Congress and in UP. He has kept the eight divisional co-ordinators of the party in UP busy feeding him information on the state of the Congress there. He also summoned IYC President Ashok Tanwar for discussions. Youth and the most important political state of India8212;the chosen heir has his constituencies chalked out.

Quick off the Marx

CPIM veteran V S Achutanandan8217;s certain installation as the next chief minister of Kerala has made some party members more than a bit anxious, given the bitter factional fighting that preceded the election victory. That is indeed how talk started in the state unit about the importance of the home and power portfolios. Some names for the portfolios includedthose of M A Baby, Thomas Isaac and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Naturally, tongues started wagging when Baby met party chief Prakash Karat and politburo members Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat in Delhi. However, one version has it that Brinda did not give Baby a very warm welcome.

Grasping the hand

Purno A Sangma is warming up to the Congress leadership and may return to the party that he quit over the issue of its president8217;s foreign origin in 1999. Sangma was part of the trio that rebelled and floated the Nationalist Congress Party NCP with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar. But Sangma has had a rocky time since. He first revolted against Pawar who moved closer to Sonia Gandhi and eventually allied with the Congress. Then the former Lok Sabha Speaker went in for an alliance with Mamata Banerjee, but the Trinamool Nationalist Congress Party had the briefest of lives, forcing Sangma back to the NCP. Last week, Sangma met AICC secretary Major Ved Prakash touring Meghalaya and said, 8216;8216;Let8217;s leave the past behind.8217;8217; To prove he was serious about mending fences, on Friday, Sangma assured the Congress government of the support of the lone NCP MLA in Assam.

Watered down

It was a much-awaited moment when Manmohan Singh boarded the INS Viraat to spend a day and night at sea, having finally made it for the PM at Sea ritual after two abortive attempts earlier. But the speech he gave to the 2,000-odd personnel on board was noticeable for its bland, work-a-day content. There was no newsmaking declaration, the closest to one being the 8216;8216;announcement8217;8217; that Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier being procured from Russia would be renamed INS Vikramaditya8212;a factoid known now for over a year. Even NSA MK Narayanan, who accompanied the PM on the aircraft carrier, felt that such ceremonial events would be more meaningful if they were 8216;8216;result-oriented8217;8217;. But insiders blame the Navy for the lack of zing in Manmohan8217;s words. The pre-briefing by the Navy robbed the PM8217;s speech of substance. Maybe the Navy should let the PM fire his own torpedos.

Please beer with us

You could say it was the 8216;high8217; point of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation discussion on Friday. East Arunachal MP Tapir Gao asked why beer and other drinks with limited alcohol contents should not be served on domestic flights. The Civil Aviation Ministry8217;s reply was that rules did not permit it. While members talked about the need to change such decrees, there was one man who they expected would say something on the topic: Vijay Mallya. The Rajya Sabha member, however, chose to keep mum. With reason. As Kingfisher Airlines owner he had moved a formal application to the DGCA on the possibility of serving beer on his flights. It had also been turned down.