Second Thoughts

Vajpayee and Advani decided to appoint Najma Heptullah as chairperson of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations to compensate her for losi...

Vajpayee and Advani decided to appoint Najma Heptullah as chairperson of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations to compensate her for losing out in the vice presidential sweepstakes. But they both obviously did not bargain that the BJP vice-presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat would take strong exception to the vice president8217;s powers being whittled down. Although traditionally the vice president is ex-officio ICCR chairman, since Shekhawat does not have a special interest in culture, it was assumed that he would not object. Shekhawat, however, was furious when he heard about the proposal.

The notification of Heptullah8217;s appointment was to have been made earlier this week. The delay in sending her name to the President for his signature suggests that there are second thoughts. Perhaps the government is waiting till after the vice presidential election before taking the final decision.

PM Pumped Up

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee emerged from semi-hibernation to take charge during the petrol pump crisis. L K Advani presided over a pre-lunch party meeting on Monday at which opinions were sharply divided. In the post-lunch session which Vajpayee attended, the PM ruled firmly that the best course of action was to cancel all petrol pump allotments since 2000. Vajpayee was particularly incensed that his own name had been dragged into the scandal since a relative, Aparna Mishra, had put down his Lucknow address in the voter8217;s list as her own residence. Mishra is not the offspring of any of Vajpayee8217;s brothers or sisters and meets Vajpayee rarely, according to sources close to the PM.

There is a clear divide in the BJP on the issue of the wholesale cancellation of petrol pumps. Party president M Venkaiah Naidu and central ministers like Ram Naik, Pramod Mahajan and Ananth Kumar felt that the BJP should simply ride out the crisis and respond politically by taking the fight to the Opposition camp. Some were so strident in defending the indefensible that it only strengthened the suspicion that their friends and relatives were beneficiaries of the largesse. Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Arun Jaitley and Vijay Kumar Malhotra advocated strongly that the allotments be cancelled to uphold the party8217;s image.

Between the Lines

If the Delhi Police have finally made arrests in the Shivani murder case after three-and-a-half-years, it was only because of occasional prodding by Home Minister L K Advani not to let the case die no matter if influential people were involved. Advani knew the scribe8217;s family personally. Shivani8217;s father was an RSS man and Advani had attended her wedding. Which is why Madhu Sharma blames the 8216;8216;Home Ministry8217;8217; for the arrest warrant against her husband, Ravi Kant Sharma. The Haryana cadre police officer who persistently did his best to obstruct investigations even refusing a DNA test to establish Shivani8217;s child8217;s paternity, was always considered the prime suspect. But Sharma had all along made clear that if implicated he would throw mud at others. Madhu8217;s puzzling press conference was a piece with her husband8217;s earlier pressure tactics to forestall arrest.

Bill of Postponement

A bill amending the SPG Act was to have been introduced in the current Parliamentary session, but was withdrawn last week after Congress leaders Arjun Singh, Manmohan Singh and Natwar Singh met Vajpayee and Advani to protest some of its provisions. Unlike I K Gujral, Deve Gowda and Narasimha Rao who would have automatically lost their SPG protection under the new Bill8212;since former prime ministers would be entitled to SPG guards for only a year after demitting office8212;Sonia8217;s SPG would have continued because intelligence agencies still perceive a threat to her. While, ideally, the Congress would have liked Sonia Gandhi8217;s lifelong protection to be mentioned in the Bill, they have taken up the issue that the wording should be altered so that it is the Central Government and not the intelligence agencies which decide which former PM and his family requires the SPG cover. That way the blame for removing SPG guards can be pinned squarely on the Centre.

Uplifting the PM

When Prime Minister Vajpayee delivers his Independence Day speech this year he will use the new elevator specially installed at the Red Fort to replace the half-a-century-old lift which was frequently out of order. A special committee of secretaries was constituted some months back to consider options for the replacement of the existing lift, which is located at a considerable distance from the spot where the PM addresses the crowds below. But after much discussion fanciful alternatives, such as bringing in an aero ambu-lift, were rejected, it was decided to simply upgrade the existing elevator.

Spy Trapped

Speaking of lifts, six months back the RAW chief, Vikram Sood, was trapped in an elevator on the sixth floor of the RAW building. The lift refused to move even after the emergency button was pressed and it was only after much banging and shouting that Sood was finally rescued. The 13-floor building in the Lodhi Road complex has a special elevator for its chief to travel directly to his office on the top floor. After his nerve wracking experience a new lift was installed.

Illustrations by Ajit Kumar