Quips, repartees et al, PM at his best again

ON BOARD PM'S AIRCRAFT, Nov 7: The old Atal Behari Vajpayee has resurfaced. Gone is the wounded look which had appeared in the five months a...

ON BOARD PM’S AIRCRAFT, Nov 7: The old Atal Behari Vajpayee has resurfaced. Gone is the wounded look which had appeared in the five months after he became Prime Minister. His face frequently crumples up in silent laughter and his body shakes, when something tickles him and this is the way people have known him over the years.He was even able to joke at one of the gatherings he addressed in Mumbai yesterday. “It was better when I was in the Opposition, there was only speaking to do,” he said to applause. “One didn’t have to deliver then. Now responsibility has come. At every step there is an obstacle.”Speaking to a group of reporters during his day-long trip to Mumbai on board the IAF aircraft, he said he didn’t see any threat to his government whatever happens in the November Assembly polls.

However, he admitted that the polls would affect the political scenario since they would give an idea of how people were thinking. But he said `no’ when asked if his government could go if the Congress won in allthe four states. “We are in a majority and the Congress has to establish itself. It remains to be seen what they do.”Unlike his party, which has maintained that prices will not be an election issue, Vajpayee said they would be “a contributory factor,” especially in Delhi, “though not a decisive one.” Again, unlike his party leaders who blame unseasonal rains or the previous governments for the steep hikes, Vajpayee admitted that his government had erred in not heeding the warning signals. Environment Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is from Maharashtra, had written to the Food Ministry much before the untimely rains came and warned that the onion crop was damaged and immediate action should be taken. “The Ministry did not take it seriously and they continued with the export of onions.”What also compounded the problem, Vajpayee said, was that the prices of onions overseas shot up once they got wind that India was going to import it.

He conceded that there was also the problem about the credibility of thegovernment. People did not believe it when it kept trying to reassure them that things would be available at reasonable prices. “Once the wind starts to blow in a particular direction, it is very difficult to stop it. The result was that even the poor man was buying five packets of salt.”Vajpayee’s repartees are back. On being asked whether he had discussed political matters with Sonia Gandhi at the tea he had hosted for her twice some months back, he shot back, “Aur Kya?” (What else?).One reporter reminded him of the BJP’s promise to make public the Bofors papers available with the Government. Another journalist intervened with the quip that the promise was made not by him but by L K .Advani. Vajpayee reacted immediately: “There are no differences between Advani and me.” He said the remaining Bofors papers are expectecd by December. “They are about the last beneficiary and the bank to which the money went.”

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Vajpayee kept a hectic pace all through Friday: The plane took off at 8.45 am andwas back at 10.20 pm. In Mumbai, which was hot and muggy, the Prime Minister addressed four meetings and met delegations at Raj Bhavan. He talked to the media team accompanying him on the way back.

Pramod Mahajan was at his elbow all the time. His adopted son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya was around but remained in the background. So did N M Ghatate, a longtime friend who is also a member of the Law Commission. There was Information Advisor Ashok Tandon and Som Pal, Minister of State for Agriculture and L M Singhvi, former High Commissioner to Britain.

Some excerpts of what the Prime Minister said:

* On Sushma Swaraj’s alleged links with Romesh Sharma: “There is no connection. There is no photo. All this is false. The investigating agencies have looked into it, into the documents and statements.”

* On Mamata Bannerji’s statement that he is not assertive enough and had not called a CMs meeting on the price issue:

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“What is the connection between being assertive and the CMs’ conference? We can call aCMs’ conference. But price rise is an all-India phenomenon. The situation is different in different states.”

On the demand for a Sikh Personal Law made by SGPC chief G S Tohra:

“There are differences among the Sikhs themselves. The demand was made once before and then it died out. An effort is being made to revive it.”

* On how he sees Sonia Gandhi as his rival for the same job:

“I do not want to comment on it.”

On extortions and gang warfare in Mumbai:

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“The situation is not so serious to warrant such a step. In Maharashtra the police morale has gone down after various court judgements. There was one judgement in which the court allowed food to come from home for 400 out of the 500 people who had been interned. One shouldn’t say anything against the courts. On the Government’s inability to get its act together and whether he is satisfied with his government’s performance:

“On what issue? Sugar prices have not gone up…There is always scope for improvement. Leave aside seasonal factors,the administration could not make a proper assessment of the situation. Andaz ki galati thi.”

In Odisha, Modi mounts ‘loot tantra-vs-bachat utsav’ attack on Congress over GST

India4 hr ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structures, saying the era of “double bachat (saving) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule. Addressing the ' Namo Yuva Samabesh' in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “loot tantra (tactics)” while in power.

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