Strange goings-on

Basu complains that Maini’s behaviour as an officer is unacceptable. But his ire perhaps stems from the fact that Maini has written a letter to the cabinet secretary complaining that Basu loses his temper, has slapped a driver, and thrown files at officers. The cabinet secretary has ruled that since Basu is only a part-time chairperson he cannot prevent his secretary from attending the board meeting.

Secure position

While her mother and brother were in China talking with the country’s top leadership, Priyanka Gandhi was spotted in a small hole-in-the-wall speciality kids store in Delhi’s Greater Kailash market. “What an unlikely place to find you!” remarked a journalist who was shopping there. Priyanka, who many believe is the politically most astute member of the family, retorted that in fact such shops were the places she was most likely to be found. She is kept busy, running errands for her children Rehan and Maria. Priyanka and a friend were ordering bed sheets with their children’s names printed on them. She was without any security guards.

Sniffing trouble

Former foreign secretary K.S. Bajpai invited Vice President Hamid Ansari, a retired IFS officer, to his house for a private dinner. In keeping with security regulations, the Delhi Police sent an advance team to Bajpai’s residence along with sniffer dogs. Bajpai was taken aback at his house being turned upside down and telephoned the vice president to protest. Ansari was so embarrassed that he called the concerned officers and gave them a dressing down. The vice president has said that in future he does not require security if he is attending a private function. He drove to his dinner appointment that night without even an escort car.

Prodigal returns

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Azhagiri, who was sent off to Madurai 15 years ago is planning to return to Chennai. Azhagiri has bought a property in Chennai’s suburbs and announced that he will stay full-time in Chennai after January. Azhagiri feels that he has got left behind because of his banishment to Madurai. His elder brother M.K. Stalin is now a minister in his father’s cabinet and acknowledged as his heir apparent. His younger step sister Kanimozhi is all set to become a minister at the Centre. It is not just the Karunanidhi and Maran families which are apprehensive about the prodigal’s return, even Jayalalithaa had a take on it. “We will have rowdy rajyam in Chennai,” she remarked at a wedding this week.

Pat for PM

CPM general-secretary Prakash Karat’s pat on the back for the prime minister’s integrity was to establish that he has no personal animus towards Manmohan Singh. The two men have made uncharacteristically sharp statements about the other side, indicating bad personal vibes. The Hindu editor N. Ram’s suggestion that Singh should resign only strengthened this surmise. In one of his meetings with the Left leaders, Singh is reported to have remarked that if he stayed on without getting his pet project, the nuclear deal, cleared, it would look as if he was simply clinging to power. Karat perhaps wanted to re-reassure Singh that his personal integrity was so high that no one would misunderstand if he backtracked.