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Journalism of Courage
After being appointed BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu placed a giant hoarding of himself outside the party headquarters which almost dwarfs the images of Advani and Vajpayee. 8216;8216;Country first, party second, self last8217;8217;, reads the slogan at the bottom.
When reports of Naidu and his family appropriating 40 acres meant for Dalits in his village surfaced, his detractors joked that the slogan should be read in reverse. They recalled the example of Bangaru Laxman who, keen on self-aggrandisement, put up a hoarding of himself with his portrait displayed prominently alongwith pictures of the party8217;s big two.
The three-in-one poster mysteriously disappeared after the Tehelka revelations and the party office claimed that it toppled over in a storm. But shortly afterwards, Laxman was asked to step down. Now Naidu8217;s detractors are watching to see if his hoarding is dismantled.
A nervous Naidu has been touring the country ever since reports of his personal land scam surfaced in the media and the PM is reported to be furious with him. At the BJP8217;s central election committee meeting, Naidu wanted Arun Jaitley to give his explanation about the land8212;as he maintains that no irregularity had been committed8212;before taking up the agenda, but Vajpayee simply brushed him aside.
The BJP fears that the Congress will rake up the issue during the next Parliamentary session. Naidu may have returned his five acres, but the other beneficiaries are still to be persuaded to return their share!
Singh8217;s Brainstrust
Unlike his predecessor Yashwant Sinha, who regularly complained that he had to rely on secretaries in whose appointments he had no role, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has put his own team in place.
Finance Secretary S Narayanan, Revenue Secretary Ajay Vikram Singh and Expenditure Secretary C S Rao may be the key officials in the ministry, but the minister relies largely on the advice of the newly appointed adviser, Vijay Kelkar, Economic Adviser Arvind Virmani and former Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra.
Chandra, who has been appointed chairman of the innocuous sounding Ethics Committee for Public Sector Undertakings, wields clout far beyond his official position. He is in and out of the minister8217;s room and his role in the Finance Ministry is being compared to the position of Arun Singh in the Defence Ministry when Jaswant was the minister in charge.
Minority Report
Since his government8217;s record in dealing with Muslims and Christians is irredeemable, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is keen to play up his administration8217;s tolerant attitude towards the tiny progressive Parsi community to demonstrate that he is not communal.
The Gujarat government has asked the Ministry of Tourism in Delhi to fund Rs one crore for a state sponsored beautification project for Udwada, the town where the first Parsi fire temple was built in India 1,300 years ago. Modi8217;s government has also offered to subsidise Parsi pilgrims in Gujarat though it is a moot point whether the affluent community is interested in government doles for religious yatras.
Modi in interviews stresses that he has no quarrel with the Parsis and he was stunned when, at the CII meet in Gujarat in the wake of the riots, the three business representatives who lashed out the state government were all Parsis8212;Anu Aga of Thermax, Cyrus Guzder of DHL India and Jamshed Irani of TISCO8212;while the Hindu business leaders kept a discreet silence.
Modi held an inquiry to find out the reason for the Parsi animus and was informed that all three critics had no business interests in the state and were not afraid to stick their necks out. Even in the National Minority Commission it is the Parsi representative, General A D Sethna, who took the initiative of serving a notice and asking for Modi8217;s inflammatory speeches.
Reluctant To Leave
On his return from the USA, Prime Minister Vajpayee noticed Vasundhara Raje Scindia in the long ministerial reception line at the airport. He remarked in amazement in Hindi, 8216;8216;Arrey, you are still in Delhi?8217;8217; which evoked laughter from her ministerial colleagues but discomfited Scindia.
Vajpayee assumed that since Scindia had been appointed as the Rajasthan party president a few days earlier, she would have relinquished her portfolio.
But the dynamic small scale industries minister who is reluctant to handle warring faction leaders in the state BJP would like to retain a toehold in Delhi.
A ministerial replacement for Scindia has yet to be announced. Though several are eyeing her personnel portfolio, Advani may decide to keep it himself in case Scindia moves on.
Deliberate Delay
Of the 120 government bungalows in Delhi reserved for journalists, half are vacant simply because the committee responsible for allotting the houses hasn8217;t met for the last four years. The I038;B Ministry prefers not to convene a meeting for fear of opening a can of worms since 25 influential journalists continue to occupy government premises unauthorisedly despite a Supreme Court order to vacate. The government is content to let the status quo continue unchallenged since the houses earmarked for the media have been occupied by government employees. Deputy PM L K Advani, who inaugurated a photo exhibition at the Press Club in the Capital last week, promised to look into the matter after pressmen complained.
