Vajpayee on vacation

New friends, old friends

DMK chief M Karunanidhi seems to have decided not to keep his budding romance with the Congress under wraps. Last week, he sent his representative in the Union cabinet, Environment Minister T.R. Baalu, to Sriperumbudur to attend the dedication ceremony of the Rajiv Gandhi memorial. Next week he has agreed to release books by two Congress leaders, state unit general secretary Gopanna and former Rajya Sabha MP Peter Alfonse.

These gestures from a person once considered an enemy have sent ripples of excitement through Congress circles, dreaming of a tie-up with the DMK to teach Jayalalithaa a lesson. But those who know Karunanidhi advise caution. They say he may pull back at the last moment and all this sweetness towards the Congress is part of an all-options-are-open strategy.

The wily DMK boss has certainly kept his channels to the BJP, specifically Vajpayee, alive. He had a chat with the prime minister when the latter called on ailing Murasoli Maran in Chennai recently and got Vajpayee to rap the local BJP unit for sniping at the DMK. Vajpayee reminded his party leaders that the DMK had been the most reliable of all NDA allies.

Unholy sulk

The organisers of Delhi’s oldest Ramlila are still reeling from the walkout by Minister of State Vijay Goel and BJP chief ministerial aspirant Madan Lal Khurana from their Dussehra celebrations at the Ramlila grounds. The two Delhi leaders apparently saw red when they found arch-rival Sheila Dikshit of the Congress had been given pride of place next to Vajpayee in the front row. The BJP duo were consigned to the rear.

Worse, Goel was asked to get up when he made the mistake of sitting on the chair reserved for Sonia Gandhi. To top it all, there were no seats for their wives.

Now which red-blooded male could tolerate that, especially in an election year, with a chunk of the Delhi electorate looking on? The sulking leaders waited for Vajpayee to arrive and then stomped out, just to make a point.

High risk zone

Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Kannappan is scrupulously staying away from his home state, Tamil Nadu, after Jayalalithaa threatened to lock him up under POTA. He hasn’t been back for nearly a month. It’s tough on a man who used to visit Chennai once in three days.

Apparently Vajpayee too has warned him not to set foot in Tamil Nadu till the POTA issue is settled. The words of advice, delivered in Vajpayee’s inimitable joking manner, came when Kannappan called on the prime minister to congratulate him on completion of four years of the NDA government.

Vajpayee is believed to have indicated that the Centre is considering amendments to POTA. Till then, Kannappan dare not venture down south.