Presidential possibilities

Already there is a buzz in the Bengali press that Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is the right man to be the UPA8217;s candidate for President of India.

Already there is a buzz in the Bengali press that Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is the right man to be the UPA8217;s candidate for President of India. Chatterjee responded coyly to a query posed by a journalist from his home state on the possibility of his standing for president next year after Abdul Kalam8217;s term ends. It was up to his party, not him, to decide, Chatterjee observed. Barkis may be willing, but it is a moot point whether the Congress would back him since, as Speaker, Chatterjee has alienated a rather large number of parliamentarians. A newsman who posed a rhetorical question to a UPA minister from West Bengal about Chatterjee8217;s suitability for the post did not find his view endorsed. The minister prevaricated, pointing out that in recent times no upper caste candidate had been elected President.

Closer to the date, some feel that even Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat could throw his hat into the ring. Since the electoral college for the President includes not just members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha but also state Assemblies, the Opposition has a fighting chance. Shekhawat, after all, is a seasoned politician who enjoys goodwill across party lines, particularly among fellow Thakurs.

Door shut, after horses bolt

The Government took the greatest care to ensure secrecy while printing some 2,000 copies of the Pathak Commission8217;s ATR. The IB was roped in to guard against leaks and the same high-security drill was followed as when Budget papers are printed. The printing press is in the basement of North Block. The 30-odd employees on duty were locked up for some 36 hours until the report was printed and placed before the Cabinet on Monday morning.

The elaborate exercise was a classic case of locking the stable door after the horses had bolted. It was on Friday evening that CNN-IBN reported the news of the Pathak report even as Justice Pathak was handing over a copy to the Prime Minister.

Noticeable silence

The Congress has been silent on its showcause notice to Bhajan Lal8217;s son Kuldip Bishnoi for speaking out of turn to the media. Bishnoi sent back a reply defending himself vigorously. Bishnoi has not given up his campaign against the SEZ project in Haryana. He plans to take up the issue in Parliament. Bhajan Lal has been telling the people of Haryana that Bishnoi speaks for him. So even while his elder son Chandra Mohan continues as Deputy CM, his younger son is busy raising the banner of revolt against CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Poet8217;s prophecy

Visitors to the town of Shiraz in Iran make it a point to stop at the tomb of the great Persian poet Hafiz. There is a belief that anyone who poses a question to the poet in his mind gets an answer. The book of Hafiz8217;s poems is opened at random and the verse which falls on the page is said to be the reply to the query. Atal Behari Vajpayee visited the tomb when he was Prime Minister and reportedly asked about his knee problem.

Last year, Natwar Singh as External Affairs Minister also opened the Diwan-e-Hafiz at the poet8217;s tomb. The reply that was read out to him was: 8216;8216;You seek solitude. Do not worry. Enjoy life. Sip wine.8217;8217; The response may not have seemed relevant at that time as Singh was a busy minister, but a few months later, after his fall from grace, with even his newfound frieds from the Left and BJP deserting him, the advice is prophetic.

Letters of recommendation

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Natwar Singh blows hot and cold with the Congress. That Singh has not burnt his bridges completely with his party is evident from the fact that till very recently, he continued to be secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Trust and vice-chairman of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, which are under the control of Sonia Gandhi, even if she formally resigned as chairperson after the OoP controversy.

Because of Singh8217;s position on both trusts, as well as on several other influential bodies selecting students for scholarships and admissions abroad, many powerful people have over the years petitioned him for letters of recommendation for their offspring. Justice Pathak, incidentally, doesn8217;t deny he may have been one of them.

Cultural gap

When Ambika Soni was appointed Culture Minister, her detractors sniffed that it was a comedown for someone who was formerly the party8217;s most important general secretary and had senior Cabinet ministers dancing to her tune. But the Moroccan Foreign Minister, who was in Delhi last month, was at pains to emphasise the importance of Soni8217;s portfolio, particularly as he himself was earlier culture minister. He pointed out that Andre Malraux, the great French intellectual and author, was appointed culture minister by President De Gaulle and he ensured that Malraux was always to the right of him so that he could get the correct cultural input when taking any decision. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, please take note.