Segregating guests

The practice of a separate enclosure for the President and a few VVIPs was introduced in the last few years...

The practice of a separate enclosure for the President and a few VVIPs was introduced in the last few years at the President8217;s At Home on Independence Day and Republic Day. But at this year8217;s garden party at Rashtrapati Bhavan, security went overboard and demarcated three different enclosures. Worse, the largest enclosure was further divided into separate sections. President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and former prime ministers were seated in one enclosure. In another, cabinet ministers, ministers of state, the chiefs of the Armed Forces, members of constitutional bodies and judges were placed in a well-designated seating order and were prevented by security from moving out of their respective areas. Foreign ambassadors were in yet another enclosure and unlike the Indian VIPs there were no chairs for them. The whole purpose of a garden party to mingle and meet people was defeated. Journalists, senior officers from the Army, police and other services, who had been kept out of all three enclosures, were left to keep each other company.

Unhappy invitees

Several guests left the Rashtrapati Bhavan garden party in a bad mood. The External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was annoyed because the chiefs of the Armed Forces were seated in front of the ministers. Minister of State E Ahamed was prevented by military personnel from sitting next to the cabinet ministers. PMK Minister R Velu was not allowed to bring his five-year-old granddaughter into his enclosure. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit was annoyed because unlike the Delhi Governor, Tejinder Khanna, she had to park her car some distance from the entrance. Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma refused to be told where to sit by security personnel. He stood his ground and ticked off an officious presidential aide. He pointed out that all ministers are part of the Prime Minister8217;s Council of Ministers and attempts to try and divide them on junior and senior lines was unacceptable.

No credit sharing

The Intelligence Bureau played a key role in helping apprehend the SIMI activists who the Gujarat Police claim were behind the blasts in Ahmedabad. The IB provided the Gujarat Police the background of the wanted men, along with photographs and their aliases, since many had changed their names after the Kerala training camp. It also secured the cooperation of the different state governments. One reason for the excellent coordination between the central police and the Gujarat Police, even though Narendra Modi is the Chief Minister of the state, is the good rapport between the DGP Gujarat P C Pandey and the IB chief P C Haldar, who are batchmates. In fact police officers from all the states approached were cooperative with Gujarat as they considered it a major professional breakthrough. Modi telephoned the concerned chief ministers to personally thank them for their help. Mayawati, after initial hesitation, permitted the Gujarat Police to arrest the alleged kingpin Mufti Abu Bashir and fly him out of UP. Her only stipulation was that Bashir should be formally arrested and not simply detained, as was the case with most of the other suspected terrorists.

Some wonder why the Centre allowed Modi to hog all the credit. The Government seems to have been constrained by political compulsions. It was concerned that if it was proved that false arrests were made human rights activists and minorities would haul it over the coals.

Keeping it under wraps

In December 2007 when SIMI leader Safdar Nagori organised a camp for activists in Kerala, where physical training and expertise in the use of arms was taught, and the local police registered an FIR against those involved. Because of political pressure, however, no action was taken against the organisers. Police in other states, including Gujarat, were not even aware that similar training camps had taken place in their areas.

Not without Amar Singh

Long before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Amar Singh reached an understanding, another Samajwadi Party MP, Salim Sherwani from Badaun had met Sonia Gandhi several times to explore the possibility of the SP joining the UPA. Sherwani, an industrialist associated with some of the trusts of the Gandhi family in Allahabad, is an old friend of the Gandhis. But Sonia soon realised that a tie-up with the SP was possible only if Amar Singh was also involved in the negotiations. Already some strain has surfaced in the SP Congress tie-up. Amar Singh is reportedly irked since the PMO no longer returns his calls with the alacrity displayed when the Congress was still wooing the SP.